Ranger School Adventures
by ArtemisisSymmetrical
Summary: Welcome to Ranger School! Here you can make new friends, practise catching pokemon and solve mysteries that have been here since the school began! Wait. What was that last part? That wasn't on the brochure... OC SUBMISSIONS CLOSED... FOR NOW.
1. Beginning

**This is an OC story, I will add the submission form at the end of the chapter. I'm planning on around six classmates and maybe a few additional characters, so if you want your character to be included please send it in quickly! :)**

**All submission forms to be PM, please. Ahead of time, sorry if this is a bad chapter, I just wanted to get the story rolling, ya know? The next chapter will be much better. All the teachers will be canon characters.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yet, anyway (unless my evil plan to take over the Pokemon empire succeeds. Mwahaha!)**

* * *

><p>Laura smoothed down her new school uniform anxiously and checked herself for the five hundredth time in the mirror, in hope that this glance would reveal some tiny detail somehow missed by the previous four hundred and forty-nine. "Calm down Laura, everything will be okay," she attempted to reassure herself. "It's not like you're the only one who's nervous, it's everyone else's first day as well."<p>

Needless to say, it failed miserably.

"Laura, you're going to be late on your first day of school. Now, we don't want that do we?" called her mother from downstairs.

Laura panicked slightly. "Coming, mum!" She rushed down the stairs, almost tripping over the bottom two resulting in a rather undignified entrance in the kitchen. Her mother chuckled.

"Oh, Laura, you're hopeless."

"Gee thanks, mum." Laura grumbled. "Just what I wanted to hear today, perfect."

Her mother shook her head. "You're so grumpy in the mornings. Now, as you know I can't accompany you to the school but here is a letter to give to Principal Lamont when you arrive."

Laura accepted the letter. "I'll miss you mum," she sniffed, before giving her a massive bear hug, which was happily returned.

"I'm so proud of you, Laura. Now, go out there and show the world what you're made of!" her mother whispered into Laura's hair, before hurrying her out the door.

"Bye mum!" she called as she walked out of the house she had lived in for as long as she could remember, dragging a massive suitcase behind her.

"Bye sweetheart!" Her mother shouted back, watching her daughter disappear up the road to Vientown, her heart swelling with pride.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura walked quickly, lugging the baggage. I didn't really need such a massive bag, she thought. I should have brought a smaller one. Oh well, it's a bit late now.

She was feeling a bit better now that she had woken up properly (Laura was REALLY not a morning person) and had a bit of fresh air in her lungs. Laura was optimistic: first day at Ranger School, meeting new people and practising catching Pokémon.

Laura's ambition was simple: to become a Pokémon Ranger. She had wanted nothing else since she had been a little girl, drawing loops around her mother's Clefairy with sticks, yelling "CAPTURE ON!" every time she saw a wild Pokémon.

Laura smiled at the memories before quickening her pace; she really didn't want to be late on her first day. All that would earn her is a bad reputation.

She crossed over a long rickety wooden bridge (someone seriously needed to add supports to that thing) before arriving outside the huge iron gates that guarded the school. Laura wasn't normally intimidated easily but the gates weren't exactly encouraging her to open them.

She took a deep breath to calm herself (again failing) before pushing on one of the gates, which creaked ominously.

"These really need oiling," she muttered and pressed her body against the cold bars, using all her body weight to finally force them open, wondering what would await her inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so here is the form.<strong>

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Appearance:**

**Positive personality traits:**

**Negative personality traits:**

**Ranger, Operator or Mechanic:**

**History & Family:**

**All OC characters will be appreciated and used! I also like to have any input for your character in the story, so if you have any ideas be sure to mention them to me! Review too, please~**


	2. Not exactly the usual entrance

**Hi guys! Sorry for the wait!**

**This chapter is dedicated to all those who sent in OC's. I'm sorry if your character doesn't appear in this chapter, but I'll try and include them in the next!**

**Disclaimer: My evil plan failed. So I don't own Pokemon and I'm now also a wanted criminal. Yeesh.**

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Laura tasted mud. I've changed my mind, she thought. These gates need LESS oil. Laura slowly brought her body into a sitting position, gasping as a wave of pain shot up her left leg.<p>

"Just my luck," she sighed. "I hope someone finds me soon, or I might be here a while." She also hoped that the person who found her was a teacher and not a fellow student, otherwise that would just be downright embarrassing.

"Smooth!"

Laura's head whipped round at the statement, which was quickly followed by a small chuckle. She glared at the newcomer. A tallish boy who she guessed was around her age stood a couple of meters away, just outside the gates. He had evidently arrived just in time to see her fall.

Actually, Laura wasn't sure about his age. How many young teenagers had silver hair?

For this boy had a full head of it. His eyes, which were concealed under his fringe, were silver as well, only a slightly lighter shade, almost grey. Perched on his head was a battered white fedora that looked out of place compared to the green, modern school uniform.

"Tell me; are you a professional stunt artist, or is it a gift?" His grin shrunk slightly as Laura made no attempt to get up.

Laura's brain struggled to think up a comeback. She was not a natural at the bantering game, and always prepared a list of witty (or what she thought was witty) responses in her head before starting an argument. But in a spur-of-the-moment situation like this, well-

"It wasn't like it was on purpose." Laura blurted out the first remark that came to her, before mentally facepalming. What kind of comeback had that been?

The boy raised an eyebrow at the 'retort', before his grin grew again. "I kind of noticed that. Walk much?"

Laura stood up, or at least attempted to. But as soon as she put her weight on her left leg, it buckled, and she was left clinging onto the gate as she slid back down onto the ground.

The boy stopped smiling, his confident smirk replaced by a look of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Do I LOOK okay?" Laura snapped, before wincing again. She bit back tears. Don't you dare cry, she told herself sternly.

The boy realised that it was a stupid question and instead asked another one. "Can you stand on one leg, if you lean against the bars?"

"I think so." Laura frowned at the odd request, but gingerly put all her weight on her good leg, before standing up, clutching at the gate for support. "Now wha- HEY! What are you doing?"

The boy picked her up gently, bridal-style. He must have been strong to lift her up, because Laura was no light-weight. "You can't walk," he stated the obvious. "So it looks like I'm going to have to carry you up to the school instead."

Laura sighed. This was NOT her day.

"By the way, my name's Devin Powell." Devin finally introduced himself. "What's yours?"

"Laura."

"Laura what?"

She felt dumb. "Laura Hepburn."

"Well, Laura Hepburn, it's nice to meet you." Laura couldn't decide if this guy was being polite or sarcastic. In the end she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt as they began ascending the worn stone steps leading to the school.

"You too." she replied.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin didn't know how he ended up carrying a random girl into the school. Well, he did, but it wasn't something that he'd expected when he got out of bed that morning.

Devin had been walking behind the girl, who'd introduced herself as Laura, for a little while. He'd debated with himself whether to start a conversation, seeing as it was obvious that they were both students. She was wearing the exact same uniform as him, only with shorts instead of full-length trousers and a more fitted jacket. Her hair was strawberry blonde accompanied by the usual blue eyes, whilst she was an average height, if a somewhat larger build.

Just as he was about to shout out a greeting, however, the gates that Laura had been leaning on gave way, and she had tumbled in headfirst. Devin had snickered; he couldn't help himself, before he'd approached the dishevelled mess on the ground before him.

Now they were climbing the stone steps towards the school, slowly but surely. This girl weighs a ton, Devin thought, as his arms began to lose all feeling in them. She winced as he shifted her weight into a more comfortable position for his poor dead arms.

"Sorry." he said, glancing down to make sure Laura was okay.

"It's alright." she replied. The vibe was awkward as they continued to approach the massive structure ahead of them. Devin swallowed. Laura evidently wasn't a talkative type. Which surprised him, the majority of the girls in Pueltown could never shut up.

"So, I'm guessing you're here to be a ranger?" Devin asked. Anything to break the silence.

"Yep. You?" At least she answered, Devin thought.

"I want to be a ranger too. Though I guess I'm a bit young for it, I might as well give it a go."

Laura wriggled slightly. "How old are you exactly?"

"I'm 13." Devin replied. Her eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"

He frowned. "Yes, why do I look older or something? People are always telling me that."

"You look about 16." She smiled a little.

Devin chuckled. "Well, I'm not, I'm only 13. What about you?"

"I'm 14."

"Oh."

Thus concluded the awkward conversation. Devin sighed with relief as they eventually made it to the top, but his torture wasn't over yet. He trekked steadily towards the school, whilst taking in his surroundings.

A neat, recently mowed lawn with winding paths occupied the space in front of them. To the left, a large shed stood its paint weathered and old. On the right was a bunch of old crates, which Devin guessed were for Target Clearing. Behind them were some small cliffs with a vegetable patch perched on top. Pokémon ran about freely, Devin spotting about five different kinds. There was an obvious abundance of Bidoof, but none of the Pokémon bothered the pair as they managed to reach the doors of the school itself, which was a large, beaten old building, with faded paint and a bell tower.

Devin shoulder barged one door and burst inside, finding himself in a large hall where a bunch of teenagers, obviously students, stood facing a stage where an old man wearing a brown tweed suit and glasses was talking. Everyone turned around at the sound of the newcomers.

"Oh, crap," Devin muttered. "I think we just interrupted something important."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura's face burnt bright red as the entire school shifted their eyes onto her. This was the single most embarrassing moment of her life. She wished the ground could open up and swallow her whole.

Sadly the ground remained stable and relatively hole-less as they waited for someone to speak.

"Ah, so here are our latecomers. Laura Hepburn and Devin Powell, I presume?" The old man on stage addressed them. Laura correctly guessed that this was Principal Lamont.

"Yes," Laura replied. Devin merely nodded.

"Did something happen?" Principal Lamont stepped down from the stage and walked towards them, quickening his pace as he noticed the look of discomfort on Laura's face.

Laura's mind raced. If the whole school knew that she was hurt because of falling through the same gates that everyone else had managed to escape unscathed, she'd be a laughing stock. Her reputation would be ruined in five seconds flat.

Trouble was, Laura was also a really bad liar. She sent a pleading look to Devin, which thankfully didn't go unnoticed.

"One of the Bidoof's attacked her," Devin looked the Principal straight in the eye. Laura wondered how the hell anyone could lie like that. But what Devin said next came as a total surprise.

"It wasn't her fault. I dropped a Pecha Berry on the ground, and the Bidoof went after it just as she picked it up. It was an accident."

Laura's eyes widened in shock. Why was Devin taking the blame for her? She wanted to ask, but realised it was neither the time nor the place. Luckily Professor Lamont mistook her look of shock as one for pain and turned around, before pointing to one of the eldest boys in the room. "Show these two the way to the infirmary, if you please."

The boy grunted in reply. He was tall, with an exploding mass of darkish curls and deep green eyes. His fair complexion contrasted with the green uniform. Principal Lamont turned towards the pair.

"This is Richard Malon, a fellow ranger. He'll show you where to go. Afterwards, Devin, please make your way back to the hall." He smiled. "I hope you feel better soon, Laura."

"Thank you," Laura replied, still feeling somewhat humiliated by the situation. Principal Lamont made his way back to the stage as Laura felt Devin turn around, and start following the dark-haired boy in front.

"This way." Richard directed them. He had a very deep voice which was almost mono-tone. Devin followed him up some stairs behind the stage. Laura cringed as she felt everyone's eyes on her back. Devin shifted uncomfortably at the unwanted attention.

Richard didn't seem to be bothered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Does anyone in this place know how to have a conversation? Devin wondered glumly as he walked behind Richard up a wide, dimly-lit staircase, paying close attention to where he put his feet.

"Crap!" Devin cried out as he missed a step and stumbled, Laura flinching as the boy almost fell. Luckily a pair of steady hands caught him before he collapsed, and helped him to steady himself.

"Be more careful," was the only comment from Richard's mouth. He turned and began walking again as if nothing had happened. Laura nodded in agreement.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Devin asked, following more carefully. His arms were now past pain. They were numb. Maybe they'd need amputating.

I hope not, Devin thought. That wouldn't exactly be ideal when using a capture styler to have no hands. He shook his head as Richard stopped, waiting for him to catch up. "What?"

"Could- could you take her please?" Devin huffed. This was too much strain for his unfortunate body to handle. "She's too heavy," he explained.

Devin had stepped on a landmine. Evidently, Laura's weight was a sensitive topic. "HEY!" she protested angrily. "I'm not that fat!"

Wait, when did anyone mention fat? Devin sighed at the amazing wonder at which girls always managed to twist what someone else was saying.

"I never mentioned that you were fat. I just said that you were heavy. I've been carrying you for a while now and my arms really hurt." Understatement of the century. He wondered if they would ever recover.

Laura considered this before replying with a taut "But you just said you didn't mention I was fat. So, that means, you do think I'm fat!"

If he wasn't carrying the girl Devin swore he would have hit her. "No, that's not what I meant," he turned to Richard again before Laura could protest again. "Look, can you just take her?"

Richard was silent for a moment. "Okay." He replied evenly.

Devin sighed in relief as the girl was taken out of his arms and readjusted against Richard's chest. He wanted to shout out "FREEDOM!" at the top of his voice but decided that would be a slight overkill.

However, he did smirk triumphantly and say loudly "Thank God."

This was followed by an "OUCH!" as Laura kicked him with her good leg in his already damaged arm.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura was having a bad day. She'd embarrassed herself, she'd looked like a total idiot in front of the whole school and was being carried about like a sack of potatoes. Surely things can't get any worse, she thought.

She was wrong. And cursed herself for being so as she was passed from boy to boy. Laura shuffled a bit in Richard's arms before resting comfortably against his chest. Ah, well, she thought. There are worse boys to be carried by.

"I'm not a slice of meat, you know!" she informed them indignantly. Both ignored her.

"I'm going to head back to the hall, okay?" Devin said. "You too have fun, but not too much fun. See you." He grinned, and started to head back downstairs.

Laura frowned at what he was implying, but couldn't think up a good retort. She decided to let that one slide.

Richard didn't speak as they made their way to the top of the staircase. Laura puzzled over the idea that he might be a robot.

Cold emotionless face? Check.

Mono-tone voice? Check.

Made of metal? Meh, probably.

Finally, they arrived at the infirmary. It was a spacious room with a large window on one wall, and the other with four beds lay across, one of which was currently occupied by another girl. Before Laura could get a decent look, however, her way was blocked by a large woman wearing a faded purple dress and brown hair scraped in a bun.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" She sounded like a policewoman.

Laura glanced up at Richard, who was obviously not going to answer. "I was attacked by, um, some Bidoof's." she lied pathetically. The woman raised an eyebrow, evidently seeing through the story, but motioned to the bed next to the girl.

"Just leave her here Richard and I'll look after her," the woman said in a cheerful tone, before leaving into another room Laura had not noticed. Richard nodded and placed Laura down on the bed gently.

"Hey, Richie!" The girl in the bed greeted Richard cheerfully. Richard frowned at the nickname. "Don't call me that."

Okay, Laura reconsidered. Not a robot.

The girl shrugged. She was cream-skinned, with delicate features. Black, shimmering hair fell to just below her shoulders, the first layer ending above. She was repeatedly pushing a chin-length fringe out of her eyes, sweeping it behind her ear. Her eyes were a shining purpled-blue and her mouth was small and cherub-like. She looked, in Laura's opinion, like a china doll. Except for the fact that she had blood pouring out of her nose.

Richard left, shutting the door behind him. There was silence apart from the sound of his heavy footsteps echoing down the narrow corridor as he headed down the stairs.

Laura turned to face the girl only to find herself being studied. "What?" she asked, somewhat aggressively.

The girl raised one hand in defence (the other was busy holding a tissue to her bloody nose). "I wasn't doing anything," she said defensively, before relaxing into a smirk. "Well, apart from trying to decide how you became such a rubbish liar."

Laura's cheeks grew red. "I wasn't lying!"

The girl waved her hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pull the other one, it's got bells on." She leaned forward. "So, you going to tell me what really happened or not?"

"It's none of your business." Laura replied curtly. This girl was getting on her nerves.

"Spill the beans," the girl asked. "You're going to have to explain yourself to Janice anyway, because it's obvious she didn't believe you either."

Laura was momentarily sidetracked. "So, that woman's called Janice?"

"Yeah, she's the cook, caretaker and nurse here," the girl explained. "Janice is like a mother to us. Albeit a somewhat grumpy one."

Laura giggled, before bursting out with laughter after Janice called jokingly from the other room; "I heard that, missy. You need to learn how to hold your tongue, Athena."

Laura glanced back at the girl, who was smiling also. "So, you're Athena?"

"Yeah. That's me! Athena Whiteraven. I'm well known around here."

Laura snorted. She didn't doubt that, despite it being only the first day she could imagine Athena having quite an impact.

"I'm Laura Hepburn."

Athena smiled again, warmly this time. "So, you going to tell us what happened or not?"

Laura sighed, and began to explain, trying to ignore the other girl's giggling at her clumsiness.

"That's priceless!" Athena gasped for air. Laura scowled; she didn't find it funny at all. At Laura's expression, she added, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I swear it."

Somehow, Laura found it hard to believe her. "So, what happened to you?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

Athena's expression changed. "Nothing," she said stiffly. "It's just a nosebleed."

Laura was about to inquire further when Janice entered the infirmary again, and bustled over to her. She began to examine Laura's leg as Laura glanced over to the other girl, who was staring out of the window.

Laura decided not to worry about it and instead turned her attention to the woman attending to her aching limb. It mostly hurt when she moved it, and occasionally throbbed.

"It's just sprained," Janice announced. "You should be back on your feet tomorrow, but it will still hurt to walk. I'm going to find some crutches for you, and you'll also need to spend the night here."

With that, she left the room again. With it being nearly lunchtime and all, Laura figured she must have gone to cook. She was amazed at how one person could do so much.

The two girls talked about nothing in particular for the rest of the day. Around lunchtime Janice came back with two trays of steaming beef stew, but otherwise they were left alone.

Laura found Athena growing on her. Sure, she was smart-arsed and sarcastic, but underneath Laura discovered that she was apparently kind-hearted with a good sense of humour.

When she wanted to be.

At about 6 o'clock, Janice came and told them it was time for bed.

"This early?" asked Laura apprehensively. She earned a lecture for her trouble; on how her leg needed time to heal, her body needed rest and a 'healthy young lass like you' needed her sleep. Laura gave in. Anything for a quiet life.

She was surprised when Athena went to bed as well. "Are you really so ill that you must spend the night in here too?"

Athena smiled at her. "My nosebleeds are frequent. If one happens in the middle of the night whilst I'm asleep-"

"I get the picture," Laura interrupted. She really didn't need a graphic description, thanks. "But why so early?"

"I don't sleep much," Athena explained, and Laura noticed the bags under her eyes, which you could see through her long, thick lashes. "So I go to bed early to try and get as much as possible."

Laura considered this as she snuggled down the bed. It took her a while to get to sleep, but she managed it.

A few hours later, Laura woke up suddenly. She shot upright in bed. Laura could hear a terrible noise, loud and shrill, bouncing off the walls of the room. She turned around frantically in her search for the source.

The wailing sounded like someone screaming in pain. It was deep and prolonged and hurtful and when Laura realised what, or who, was making the sound, she froze.

Athena was lying in bed, fists clenched, and tears were running down her cheeks. Her mouth was wide open, emitting the terrible racket.

Athena was screaming.

* * *

><p><strong>CLIFFHANGER!<strong>

**Sorry. That chapter was twice as long as I meant it to be! Arrgh, my fingers hurt now.**

**Also, I apologise if any of the characters were too OOC! Wow, I'm apologising a lot today. This isn't like me.**

**OC's:**

**Devin Powell by Makaidos**

**Richard Malon by Just AJ**

**Athena Whiteraven by ShadowDragon654**

**Thank you guys so much! Hope I didn't ruin any of your brilliant characters.**

**OC's are still accepted, but I only have about five slots left. Also, it's a little unbalanced at the moment, as there are 5 guys and only 2 girls (excluding Laura). So I need some more gals! Remember that brave, stubborn and strong aren't the only ways to go.**

**Finally, please review! I'd love to know what you think of the story so far, espeacially all those who have submitted OC's!**

**Thats all for now. Peace Out~**


	3. Nightmares and New Friends

**Sorry for the wait!**

**Yes, I am horrible for taking this long to update, and yes, I know you all love me really *smirks with growing self-importance***

**Disclaimer: I have come up with a new evil plan! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! To get free chicken dippers! I never mentioned I was trying to take over the Pokemon Empire again, did I? You shouldn't jump to conclusions. I don't own Pokemon and I never will. (probably)**

**WARNING: The beginning of this chapter's really sad. If you have a heart! I recommend a box of tissues and some comfort food.**

* * *

><p>In her dream, Athena was at home.<p>

_In her living room, on the computer, playing the latest Pokémon minigame 'Jump, Jumpluff! Jump!' with her best friend Juliana. Both were nine years old. Home alone, except for her younger brother Jonathan, who was seven. _

_The computer beeped and whirred, crying out with a tinny mechanical tune. The light from it danced across the room, lighting up the cream coloured walls. Juliana was perched on the arm of the wheelie chair, both girls staring at the screen with looks of intense concentration. They were on Level 10, the last one._

_Athena was so engrossed in the game she didn't notice Jonathan enter the room, already in his Torchic pyjamas. Jonathan loved Torchic's. _

"_Can I play too, Thena?"_

"_No." Athena snapped. She regretted it later. "We're on the last level, Johnnie. It took us sooo long to get there!"_

"_Yep!" added Juliana. "Go do something else, like play with your plushies. We're busy."_

_The computer beeped, sending out the victory tune. Both girls squealed in delight. "We won!" Athena cried out happily. Juliana leapt of the chair and Athena spun round. Jonathan watched enviously until she pulled him onto her lap. "You can spin too, Johnnie! Juliana, spin us!"_

_Juliana spun the two around until they collapsed off the chair in a fit of dizzy giggles. "It's... spinning!" Jonathan smiled._

"_Heehee, I feel sick now." Athena giggled. Juliana laughed too. "Can we watch the TV now?"_

_All three children jumped onto the crimson, worn sofa. Jonathan turned on the TV and tuned into the Pokésports channel, much to the dismay of the girls. "Johnnie!" they complained loudly._

"_What, Thena?" _

"_We want to watch Pokémon Idol!" the girls chorused. Jonathan huffed and reluctantly passed over the remote. There was a scrabble to change the channel and all three children settled down happily to watch the singing Chingling's and their trainer on the screen._

CRASH!

"_W- what was that?" asked Jonathan nervously. "What was what, Johnnie?" asked Athena, puzzled. Neither girl's had heard the commotion over the noise of the TV._

"_Thena, I'm scared." Jonathan whined, snuggling up to his older sister. "Johnnie, we're trying to watch this!" complained Juliana, but Athena hugged him and absent-mindedly stroked his hair. "It's okay, Johnnie." She whispered comfortingly._

_There was a second crash. This time all three children heard it and jumped, suddenly alert. "Now I'm really scared!" said Jonathan, and buried his head in Athena's shoulder. She heard him give a small sob. "Johnnie, shush. There's nothing there." She tightened her grip on her younger brother. _

"_Go check!" Jonathan insisted. Athena looked uneasily at her best friend, who huffed and stood up. "I'll go!" Juliana announced. "I'm not a coward, like Johnnie is." She added scornfully. Johnnie murmured something about not being a coward as Juliana gingerly opened the door and walked out into the dimly lit corridor, glancing up at the banisters. _

"_There's nothing here!" she told the others from the hallway. "You see? I was right all al-ong..." Her voice trailed off. _

"_Something wrong, Juliana?" asked Athena, concerned._

"_Athena! Run! There's a ma-"_

**BANG!**

_Juliana screamed in pain. Athena shot up from the sofa and ran to the window, which was already half-open. "Johnnie, help me!" she pleaded. Jonathan helped her, snivelling. They managed to push it open fully as heavy footsteps began to echo down the corridor. Footsteps way too heavy to belong to a nine year old girl. The pace quickened as Athena pushed Jonathan out of the window and helped him to the ground. She climbed out herself as a man clad in black burst into the room. _

_Athena didn't stop to look or she might have noticed the handgun he was holding. Or that it was smoking slightly. Instead, she took Jonathan's hand and began to run. They reached the end of the garden in no time and started to scale the fence. Athena managed first, using the natural footholds formed in the weathered surface. Jonathan was slightly slower. He had just reached the top of the fence when another bang went off. _

_Athena ducked instinctively. She didn't know where the bullet had landed, and breathed a sigh of relief. The man stopped firing. _

"_Johnnie, it's okay! We're safe!" Athena told her brother. He didn't reply. _

"_Johnnie?" asked Athena uncertainly. He gave an odd grunt before collapsing. "Johnnie!" Athena shouted, before rushing to join her stricken brother. _

_Red. There was a lot of red. All over Jonathan's top. Which was strange, because he was wearing a white t-shirt. The most red was at the hem of the t- shirt. _

_Athena was crying. She didn't understand what was wrong with Jonathan, but he was breathing heavily, like every breath hurt. Jonathan started to cry too, and reached out for Athena's hand. She gripped it tightly._

"_Thena..." Jonathan choked. She took his head in her lap and stroked his hair, the way she did every time Jonathan was scared or worried. His chest rose and fell at an irregular pace. "Shush, Johnnie. Everything's okay..." she whispered, tears falling faster and faster._

"_Thena... I'm scared..."_

"_Don't be." Athena sniffed. "I'm here, you've got me!"_

"_But it hurts... and I can see weird things... like lights... flashing lights..." His hand rose and traced random shapes in the cold, night air._

_Athena sniffed again, before starting to talk in a low, husky voice, occasionally choking on her tears. "Johnnie, we're going to play a game. An imaginary game." Jonathan smiled vaguely, "I... love imaginary games..." he coughed onto Athena's hand, splattering it with blood._

"_I know. Now, imagine you're in a field. It has lots of flowers, and Pokémon are running about. All your favourites, like Torchic's. And you're running too. Running around with the Pokémon, singing and dancing, having a great time." Her voice wavered, but Jonathan sighed. "And I'm there too. I'm- I'm a Pokémon Ranger, and I'm capturing all the Pokémon, and they're hugging us both. Lots and lots of hugs."_

_Pokémon Ranger. Her one true goal. "And then they make us King and Queen of Pokémon, and we rule over them happily forever." _

_Athena finished. Jonathan sighed happily. "Forever and ever."_

"_Yes, Johnnie. Forever and ever and ever."_

_Jonathan's breathing slowed down and his eyes began to glaze over. "You're going to be... the best Pokémon Ranger... in all of Almia." He managed. "Promise?"_

"_Yes, Johnnie, I promise." Athena could say no more._

"_I... love you... Thena." _

"_Love you too, Johnnie..." _

_The light in Jonathan's eyes faded, before disappearing altogether. He took one last, shuddering breath before going still. _

_Athena closed his eyes. She sniffed, before crying fully again as the enormity of what had just happened hit her. _

_Juliana was- was dead. Johnnie was gone._

_Athena opened her mouth and screamed with all her might. "JOHNNIE!" _

_She screamed over and over again, her throat bleeding, wishing that she could be dead too, so she could join Juliana and Johnnie and be with them, but they were gone-_

"Athena!"

Athena felt someone shaking her shoulders. She opened her eyes, dazed, as everything came into focus.

"Athena, what's wrong?" Janice was shaking her, a look of concern on her face.

"Nothing, just... you know... Just a nightmare..." Athena muttered. Janice understood. "Well, you're darn lucky you didn't wake the whole school up." Janice handed her a tissue and spoke in a kinder tone. "Go back to sleep."

Athena wiped her face and blew her nose, which began to bleed softly. "Crap." She cursed. She propped herself up in bed, and swiped some more tissues.

Why? Why was she dreaming about that night again? She though it had stopped. The psychiatrist had told her they wouldn't happen anymore. Well, that was a hundred Poké down the drain.

Stupid quack... Athena thought. I bet he knew nothing about psychiatry anyway...

She was relieved to see that Laura appeared to be asleep. What a heavy sleeper. She thought, smiling. I bet I could set off a firework by her ear and she wouldn't notice.

Athena sat up straighter and waited for the sun to rise.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura wasn't really asleep. Janice had rushed in pretty quickly and Laura realised, over the commotion, that she would learn more by lying down and keeping quiet.

Poor Athena. Laura sighed quietly. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew one thing. Whatever dreams Athena was having, they obviously weren't pleasant.

Eventually, Laura drifted off again.

She awoke the next morning, at the sound of a regular high-pitched beep. For a moment her mind was foggy, and she struggled to remember the past day's events. Then it all came flooding back. She was at Ranger School, in the infirmary because she sprained her ankle.

Laura smiled until she tried to move her foot, which was still throbbing. She winced in pain. The beeping was starting to hurt her head.

Laura started to recall the events from the night before. Dinner, then bed. Waking up in the middle of the night to find Athena screaming in her sleep. _Athena!_ Laura hoped she was okay.

The beeping noise stopped. Laura craned her neck, to find Athena holding an alarm clock, looking very irritated.

"Damn alarm clock..." Athena muttered. She had dark circles under her eyes, which were red. Her cheeks were tear stained. "What are you looking at?" she snapped.

Laura jumped, and turned away. "What do you mean?" She decided not to say anything. If Athena wanted to tell her, she would do it in her own time.

"Nothing." Athena dropped it too.

"So, first day at school." Laura wasn't sure what else to talk about.

"Second, actually." Athena corrected her, smiling. "We just missed most of the first. Though, apparently that entrance you made was very special."

Laura blushed. "It was certainly- eventful." She murmured eager to change the subject. "So, er, what do you think we'll do today?"

Athena shrugged. "Dunno, probably learn some basics."

Laura nodded. Both girls dressed quickly (Laura wincing as she pulled her shorts over her ankle) and left the infirmary after breakfast, Janice watching them go. "You be careful with that leg, missy." She warned Laura.

Laura and Athena made it to the classroom without too much incident (well, if you don't count tripping over a dozen times 'an incident').

Athena smiled as they stood outside the classroom door. "Wow, you didn't kill yourself! I'm impressed."

"Oh, shut up."

Both girls turned to face the door. There was a great deal of noise coming from inside. "After you, old bean." Athena said in a posh accent.

"No, you knock."

"You, I insist." She bowed mockingly.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Laura knocked loudly on the door. The classroom quietened down as the door was opened, revealing a smiling woman in her late twenties.

"You must be Laura and Athena," she beamed at them. "I'm Miss April. Now, come on in."

The girls entered the classroom gingerly, not knowing what to expect. Inside were 12 desks split into two halves of the room, eight of which were currently occupied. At the far end of the room was a large oak desk, with neat stacks of paper, a coffee cup and, most interestingly, a crate of green and yellow Styler's on. Behind the desk was a large blackboard with a labelled drawing of a Styler.

Nine pairs of eyes followed Laura as she took a seat next to Devin, who waved in acknowledgement as she carefully lowered herself into the chair.

"Hey Laura, how's your leg doing?" Devin asked.

"Better, thanks." Laura replied, looking around the room. Athena was sitting next to her, deep in conversation with the girl on her left. The girl had shoulder length auburn hair, with green- no brown AND green eyes, and a sporty build. Her skirt was so short that a slight gust of wind would reveal all. Athena said something and they both laughed, before the girl pointed to an empty chair in the room. Both girls laughed again.

Meanwhile, Devin was talking to two other boys. One, with short, carefully spiked light brown hair and hazel eyes, was lying back in his chair with his feet on the desk. With a glance from Miss April he removed them with a shrug, before turning back to Devin. The other boy, with longish black hair and startling blue eyes to accompany tanned skin, caught Laura's eye and smiled before returning to the conversation.

Laura turned around when someone tapped her on the back. It was Athena, who beckoned for her to join in. She smiled gratefully, but frowned as the other girl spoke.

"It's peg-leg!" The girl smirked. "Wow, Bidoof's must really hate you, huh?"

Laura rolled her eyes as Athena giggled. "This is Crimson Icory. Crimson, meet Laura, Laura meet Crimson."

"Hey, Peg-leg."

"My name is Laura," Laura frowned again. Crimson sent her a _no shit Sherlock_ look before turning back to Athena, and giggling at one of the empty chairs on the other side of the room.

"What's so funny about a chair?" asked Laura, bemused.

"SHHHH!" Crimson and Athena shushed her so violently she almost fell out her chair. "What the hell?" Laura asked furiously, scrambling back into her seat.

The other two girls looked at each other. "Can you keep a secret?" Crimson asked in hushed tones, eyes darting around the room. "Yes," replied Laura, intrigued.

"Well, freak-boy's gone to the toilet. So, while Miss April was doing some paperwork I sneaked over and loosened the screws in his chair."

"Wait, wait, wait." Laura interrupted. "Whose freak-boy?"

Athena snorted. "His real name is Heinz Kuro Pirandello, but he insists on everyone calling him HK. He's so weird, he laughed when I got my nosebleed. Blood everywhere, but he found it hilarious. Opposite to Alina over there, she nearly fainted."

"So, you're unscrewing his seat because he laughed at you?" Laura checked. The girls nodded and burst out laughing again. Laura stood up and walked to the other side of the room in search of a more mature topic of conversation.

Richard was sitting with his arms crossed and a deep scowl on his normally expressionless face. Laura considered approaching him but decided against it, from what little she had seen of Richard showed that he was unusually annoyed. Instead she headed over to the three other girls in the room.

"Hi, I'm Laura." She said, looking the other girls up and down.

One girl, like Laura and Athena, had opted for the shorts instead of a skirt on her school uniform. She had lightly tanned skin and a brunette pixie cut, with odd streaks of red. Her face had a light dusting of freckles accompanied by icy blue eyes and full lips. Her figure was willowy and she was somewhat tall. She introduced herself as Adrien Jennings.

Another girl was short for her age, with pale skin, green eyes and shoulder length chestnut hair. Her skirt was almost as short as Crimson's. She had a massive grin on her face, and insisted on being called Trisha Maes. Or, as she put it, "Call me Patricia and I'll cut your throat out."

The last girl was quieter than the other two, with pale skin and golden hair. On her cheek was a birthmark about the size of a bottle cap (**A.N: I couldn't think of any other way to put it. Sorry!**) which was partially hidden by her fringe. Her eyes were lilac to the point of being pink, and her heart shaped face didn't suit her slight frame. She took Laura's hand formally and shook it, telling Laura her name was Alina Knight.

"So, where you from?" asked Trisha.

"I'm from Chicole Village. What about you guys?" replied Laura, somewhat distracted by the loud laughter that had burst from the other side of the room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin was having a great morning. Good food, some fun mates and a couple of cute girls. Not that he was interested, not at all, he just happened to notice that they didn't seem particularly ugly.

Corey Spina was a riot. From Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region, he entertained the other two with stories from his childhood, including his tangles with wild Swinub's.

"I didn't know they were eating it, honestly." He told the other two, who began to snigger. "I saw a big pile of poffins just sitting there, waiting to be scoffed, and next thing I know my arse has been frozen to the ground by a pack of angry Swinub's after their mid-morning snack." Corey ran his fingers through his carefully gelled hair. Devin thought it looked pretty cool.

"How did you escape, Core?" asked Sam, wide-eyed. Sam Eastwood was funny, but had little tales of his own. When asked about his past, Sam would clam up. But otherwise, he seemed nice enough.

"Well, luckily enough I hadn't eaten that many of the poffins, so after apologising to them and offering some of my hard earned berries, the Swinub left me alone. Unfortunately, my arse was still frozen to the ground, and to add salt to the wound, a blizzard started. It took me five hours and a bribed Sneasel to get me free. By the time I got home, I looked like an Abomasnow!"

The boys laughed loud enough to turn heads. Suddenly HK burst in, panting. He was black skinned, with ink coloured hair which was both short and curly, and chocolate brown eyes. His nose was large and so was his mouth, making his features seem almost exaggerated. Whilst strong he was of an average height.

"Sorry, I was in the bathroom." He announced, and everyone sniggered. There were a few mutters of "Freak-boy!" as he walked over to his seat. Athena nudged Devin. "Watch this," she whispered.

As HK sat down, the legs on the chair collapsed underneath him and he fell backwards, landing on his butt. The whole class burst out with laughter (with the exception of Alina, who pursed her lips disapprovingly and rushed to help HK up) as he sat up, dazed and rubbing his head.

HK groaned loudly. Devin, who had barely controlled his giggles, sniggered again, triggering off Sam and Corey.

Miss April stood up, a thunderous expression on her face. "Athena, Crimson, Devin, Corey and Sam. OUTSIDE NOW!" she barked.

"But Miss, we didn't do anything!" the three boys protested. "I said OUTSIDE. Do not make me repeat myself another time!" Miss April raised her voice again. Devin and the others had no choice but to hurry out the classroom and stand against the wall, heads hung. Except Crimson.

"Did you see the look on freak-boy's face?" She crowed triumphantly, offering her hand for a hi five. Nobody took it. "What?" she asked.

"You douche, you got us all into trouble!" fumed Sam, pushing his long black hair out of his eyes. Crimson looked taken aback for a moment, before regaining her composure. "It was just a bit of fun," she grumbled. "Jeez!"

Devin looked at Corey, who was in turn glaring at Crimson, and then to Athena (who was finding the nearby potted plant very interesting all of a sudden), before returning his gaze to Crimson. She was blushing now, her face almost as red as her hair.

"Yeah, it was funny. But seriously Crimson, why the hell did you feel the need to do it on the first day?" Devin asked. Crimson shrugged uncomfortably, but before she could answer the door flung open and there stood a very angry Miss Aprils.

Devin gulped. Okay, maybe this wasn't such a great morning after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Annnnnd... BREATHE. That was long.<strong>

**OC's:**

**Crimson Icory by eonhunter457**

**Adrien Jennings by ..awsum**

**Patricia 'Trisha' Maes by kitsunelover300**

**Alina Knight by ShadowDragon654**

**Corey Spina by Spartan20**

**Sam Eastwood by CakeZOrphan**

**Heinz Kuro 'HK' Pirandello by HoennRegionMasterHK17**

**Big thanks to all those who sent in OC's. I'm sorry if your character didn't get much screen time, I'll try and even it out next chapter. And I hope no one was too OOC.**

**One more OC to go! Yes! *clenches fist in triumph***

**Also, for all those who have requested romance, JEEZ GIVE A GIRL A CHANCE! Three chapters in and your already pairing people up? Wow... Maybe, maybe not. We will see.**

**I forgot to mention this earlier, but all the Rangers may have Pokemon partners. So if you would like your character to have a partner please PM me!**

**One last thing- REVIEW!~**


	4. Perverts and Punishment and Poop, oh my!

**Hello, all! Yes, I have returned from the land of no writing! Miss me much? Course you did. It is me, after all.**

**Anyway, sorry for the delay. A combination of holiday's, schoolwork, homework (bleurgh), food poisoning (double bleurgh) and writers block prevnted me from writing this. GODDAMMIT DODGY SAUSAGES!**

**But I'm back now, with the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to ShadowDragon654, who sent in not one, not two, but THREE brilliant OC's! Without you, this story would be nowhere near as interesting as it is now. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I'm giving up on evil plans. And to make matters worse, I don't own Pokemon. Phooey.**

* * *

><p>"What on earth do you think you were doing?" raged Miss April, eyeballing the five squirming students. Devin caught Sam's eye and they both shivered uncomfortably, before returning their gaze to the very angry teacher in front of them. Devin wished he'd listened to his older brother Levi's (a graduate himself) warnings about Miss April's ferocious temper.<p>

"Well?" she demanded. The three boys glared at Athena and Crimson. Athena shifted her gaze whilst Crimson glared right back, daring any of the boys to snitch on them. The silence was suffocating.

"If one of you doesn't own up now, you can all expect to be on clean-up duty for two weeks!" Miss April fumed. Devin shuddered. Levi had described clean-up duty to him many times. Putting it shortly, it involved following round the school's Pokémon after feeding time with a plastic bag and a Poop-a-Scoop.

Devin opened his mouth; he might as well take responsibility if the girls wouldn't. There was no point them all getting in to trouble, after all. However just as he was about to speak he was cut off.

"It... it was me, Miss."

Devin, Corey and Athena whipped their heads round in shock at the speaker, who continued, looking Miss April straight in the eye.

"I unscrewed fre- HK's chair. It was only meant to be a joke; I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I'm sorry."

Miss April stopped scowling. "It's good to see you're brave enough to own up, Sam."

Sam looked down, pretending to be ashamed. Devin's mouth was wide open in shock. Talk about taking one for the team, he thought. A glance at Corey and Athena proved they were as astonished as he was. They all turned to glare at Crimson (even Athena) who at least had the grace to look away.

"However," Miss April continued. "I'm very disappointed in you. Only the second day and you're already pulling a stunt like that! I'm afraid I'm still going to have to punish you. You're on clean-up duty for the rest of the week and you will apologise to Heinz Kuro immediately. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Miss April." Sam murmured, his head drooping further. Miss April pointed to the door. "Inside, and if I hear so much as a peep from you five again, you will be on clean-up duty for the rest of the month."

Devin hurried inside. He wasn't risking that, thank you very much.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, whilst Miss April was storming at the five unfortunate students outside the classroom, the rest of the students had huddled around HK (the exception to this was of course, Richard, who rolled his eyes before returning to his trademark scowl). Alina was being mother, fussing over HK as he got up shakily and reassuring him.

"Is he okay?" asked Adrien anxiously. Laura shrugged. She turned to Trisha, who like Laura, had found the situation amusing but was sensible enough to hold in her giggles.

Until now. Trisha started to giggle the most infectious giggle Laura had ever heard in her life. Which, of course, set Laura off, which set Adrien off. Soon all three girls were stuffing their fists in their mouths and turning away, ignoring the Death Glare that Alina was shooting them. Even Richard smiled a little.

"It's not funny, you know." Alina scolded them. "He could have been seriously hurt!"

HK groaned again. He stood up shakily, rubbing his head, before immediately going down on both knees and checking the empty chair nearest to him. Laura crouched down and tapped him on the back. "Uh... what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm making sure the other chairs are quite safe." He replied seriously.

"Okaaaaay..." Laura stood up. Seeing that HK was evidently going to be examining the classroom furniture for a while longer, she approached Adrien and Trisha, who had gone over to Richard who had put on his best 'Richard the Robot' face.

"So you're claiming you didn't find it funny at all?" Adrien was asking him. Richard shrugged. "Answer us!" demanded Trisha.

"Hey, Richard." Laura plonked herself on the desk next to him, trying to ignore Alina and HK over in the corner studying chairs. If she doesn't watch out Alina's going to be nicknamed freak-girl, Laura thought. And three guesses to who came up with the name freak-boy in the first place.

Richard nodded to acknowledge her presence. "Come on Richie, spill the beans!" Trisha tugged on his arm. "Jeez, it's not like we asked you who you fancy or something." At this Richard's face grew slightly flushed and he glanced away. The three girls were intrigued.

"Ooh, so you do have a crush on someone. Who is it? Tell us!" Adrien sat down on the desk and frowned at Richard, as if she could deduce who he likes by simply looking.

"It's not one of us, is it?" Laura asked finally. Richard raised an eyebrow. "None of your business."

Trisha jumped up and struck a pose. "So is it me?" She asked, fluttering her eyelids.

Adrien did the same. "Or me?"

Laura decided not to follow suit, because a) she couldn't with an injured leg and b) that would just be downright embarrassing. Meanwhile, Richard was saved the embarrassment of an answer as Miss April flung the door open. Corey wolf-whistled at the sight of the two girls standing in front of Richard. Adrien blushed and sat down, but Trisha turned round and blew Corey a cheeky kiss.

Laura hopped off the desk and sat into her seat. Miss April went to the front of the classroom and took a deep breath.

"Right, I want all of you to sit in your seats quietly and pay attention-" Miss April stopped for a second.

"Alina and Heinz Kuro, what are you doing down there on the floor?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Athena frowned as Miss April began to speak again. Whilst she felt guilty about letting Sam take the blame for the prank that she had been a major participant in, she knew she was not the main instigator. Crimson had created the prank after all, so she should have taken the responsibility. Instead, Crimson had let Sam take the blame.

Athena glanced over at her new friend, who was steadily avoiding everyone's gaze. Sam had already apologised, much to the confusion of Laura. She'd shot a puzzled glance at Athena, who had shaken her head and mouthed "I'll explain later." to her. Trisha had grinned at Sam, Adrien had frowned slightly and Alina put on a disapproving face. Richard's face remained pretty much expressionless, aside from the fading blush caused by the teasing of the girls earlier.

Everyone was now seated, with the exception of Sam. He was standing at the back of the classroom, eyes glazed over, completely ignoring everyone else. HK was now at Sam's desk, much to the displeasure of Corey. As HK had taken his seat, he'd glared at both the girls. Crimson had pretended not to notice, eyes still steadily focused on the front. Athena had looked downwards, unsure of how else to react.

"... As you all should know, this year at the Ranger School we have decided to do things a little differently," Miss April launched into a speech she had somehow learnt by heart. "Instead of mixed classes due to the incredible amount of pre-Rangers we have accepted, one class is now Ranger's only. I'm sure you've realised this is that class. The other class concerns of budding Operators and Mechanics. Whilst you will share the same dorm, breaks and lunches, otherwise you may not see very much of each other. Now as you may know already, my name is Miss April, and I will be your teacher for this year. After the break, I will start to hand out you're Stylers and begin to explain the basics of becoming a Ranger. Any questions?"

No one raised their hand as the bell rang clearly. The pupils all stood up as Miss April's announced that class was dismissed. "Also, one last thing." She called out before the class rushed out. "The basement is completely forbidden unless you wish to find yourself out of this School before you can say Capture On! Now that's all. Sam, stay behind please."

Sam scowled as the rest of the class stampeded out.

Athena rushed to find Crimson, who she saw heading steadily towards the door with the rest of the pupils. Athena pushed her way through roughly, ignoring the protests that came her way. When she managed to get outside, she found Crimson sitting on a nearby crate, staring at her hands.

"Budge up," Athena sat down next to her friend. "Crimson... I know I should have owned up too, but don't you think letting Sam take the rap was a bit, well, harsh?"

Athena's eyes widened in surprise as Crimson began to laugh. "What an idiot!" she shrieked. "Taking responsibility... at least we avoided trouble, eh?"

Athena was shocked and angry. "Crimson!"

"What?" Crimson asked, still sniggering. "Also, it means we can still pull pranks without the suspicion on us! Could life get any better?"

Athena stood up, furious. "No. You should have owned up. What the hell has Sam ever done to you? The prank was funny, but you have to have a limit Crimson! The way you're acting, no one's going to want to be your friend except me. And I'm not sure I do right now, either!"

Athena stalked off, leaving a very surprised Crimson staring dumbly after her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin and Corey were hanging out by the stone stairs leading up to the school. Both were leaning against the stone pillars. The two teenagers were discussing everything from the events of the earlier morning to which girls they thought were fit.

"Trisha has her eyes on me." Corey smirked, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, and vice versa." Devin replied. Corey raised an eyebrow. "Me? Stare at girls? Never!" he dismissed in a haughty tone, before smirking. "Though I must say, Crimson's not that bad either."

Devin frowned. "You want to watch out with that one, she's trouble. I can't believe she let Sam take the blame for her! That's callous, man."

Corey opened his mouth to reply when there was a screeching of tyres at the bottom of the hill. Both boys raised their heads curiously.

"What the hell was that?" asked Corey. Devin had no idea. Maybe it was food supplies, or more Poop-a-Scoops. Maybe it was a fresh shipment of Richard the Robot since the previous model was faulty and subject to show emotion under high moments of pressure. Either way, Devin decided to go find out.

Devin and Corey scrambled down the stone steps and gasped as the gate swung open in front of them. Just outside the Ranger School, a long sleek white car was parked, windows blacked out.

"We have a limo?" Corey gaped. Devin nudged him. "Look!" He hissed and pointed. A man in a suit and black glasses got out of the driver's seat. He proceeded to walk towards one of the doors at the end of the limo.

"What up with the man in black?" Devin asked. If the man heard him, he didn't acknowledge it. He opened the door to the limo as a teenage boy older then Devin climbed out gracefully.

Corey and Devin stared. The boy had chocolate brown hair, with natural highlights dancing in the wavy locks. His eyes were sapphire blue with emerald flecks, and his thin lips were curved into a smile. The tanned skin stood out against the Ranger School uniform, which was pristine. It looked like it had been made from the finest clothing materials you could obtain.

"This is the Ranger School, sir." The man in black bowed.

"Whatever." The boy sneered. Without a backwards glance, he began to climb up the stone steps as the poor man below struggled with his luggage. Devin and Corey looked at each other and stood up to welcome the newcomer, who looked them up and down.

"Alright," he grinned, flashing his impossibly white teeth (BLEACH! Devin thought). "Where are the babes?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura frowned. "So what you're saying is Sam owned up to the prank and Crimson just let him?" Athena nodded. The two girls along with Trisha, Adrien, HK and Richard were hanging around in a group, with nothing else to do.

"That's not fair, what did Sam do?" Laura exclaimed. Athena shook her head. "Nothing."

Laura couldn't believe it. She knew Crimson wasn't the nicest girl in school, but this... "And have you spoken to her?" Laura fumed.

"Yes," Athena replied miserably. "She just laughed and said that we were in the clear."

"That's so mean!" Trisha shouted. "If you pull the prank, you gotta be brave enough to take the rap. Right guys?" Everyone else murmured in agreement, even Richard.

"What I'm afraid I don't quite understand," began HK, "Was why Crimson picked on me in the first place?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "Well, you laughed at my nosebleed."

"And you seemed to find that Bidoof with chronic diarrhoea hilarious." added Adrien. "It was disgusting!"

"In all honesty, you're a bit strange, freak-boy." finished Trisha. Laura nodded in agreement. HK frowned in annoyance. "And why must everyone insist on calling me freak-boy?" he asked.

Athena smiled. "Don't take it too personally, freak-boy. Crimson came up with nicknames for most the class. Isn't that right, Richie, Peg-leg?"

Laura, long-resigned to her new name nodded slightly. Richard however scowled. "Don't call me that." He said.

"Yeah, she has everyone down by nickname," continued Athena. "Like, she called Devin Tin Can because of his hair, and Adrien Daydreamer, and Trisha was midget."

"Oh, so original." Trisha muttered, evidently unhappy about her new name.

"Huh?" asked Adrien. "I wasn't listening, sorry."

"I rest my case." Athena smirked.

"What about Corey?" Laura asked. "And Sam, and Alina?"

"She was still working on the two boys," Athena explained. "But I think Alina was Little Miss Goody-two-shoes."

"Harsh." commented Laura.

"What about you?" asked HK, still sore on the whole 'freak-boy' thing.

Athena frowned. "She didn't have one for me."

Athena suddenly found herself surrounded by a bunch of her annoyed classmates. She raised her hands defensively. "Look, they weren't my idea-"

"Looks like we'll have to think of one ourselves." Trisha smirked. Everyone was silent for a second as they attempted to think up a suitable nickname. Laura racked her brain. Quick wit wasn't her speciality.

"Princess." Richard spoke. "Call her Princess."

Evidently, this was a sore point for Athena. "I am NOT a princess!" she hissed at Richard, as everyone began to snigger.

Richard spoke calmly. "You look like one to me."

"Shut it Richie!" Athena flounced off, muttering to herself. A giant "OOH!" rose up but before any teasing could start, they were interrupted but a shout.

"Well, here they are!" a very good-looking boy around Laura's age was strolling towards them, followed by a very glum looking Corey and Devin.

The boy walked towards Laura, who flinched as he stroked her cheek. "Hey there, sweet thing," he whispered, before turning to address the whole crowd. "I'm James, James Anderson, but all you lovely ladies out there can call me stud."

He winked at Adrien, who blushed. Behind him, Corey rolled his eyes and made dickhead gestures. Richard scowled, before turning away and walking off. Corey left too. Devin mimed being sick as James walked over to Trisha, looking her up and down. He slid a hand round her waist and smirked. "I like 'em short." He nodded to Devin, who grinned uneasily.

Laura turned to watch. Trisha was squirming and wriggling. "Get off me, you perv!" she yelled. James frowned. "That's not very nice." He slid a hand under Trisha's chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "It's okay, sweetie pie. Just relax."

Trisha promptly kneed him in the gut.

James backed up, hissing in pain. "You psycho!" he screeched, but flinched and cowered as Trisha walked up to him. "You pervert." Trisha spat. "You make me sick. Scum like you should be locked away, somewhere without sun."

Trisha turned around and began to walk off, smiling slightly at the image of the boy writhing on the ground. "Coming?" she turned to Laura. Laura nodded dumbly, mind still trying to process what had just happened.

"Come on, Adrien!" Laura urged. "Yeah, I'm coming." Adrien muttered.

The three girls headed back to the school as James regained his footing. "You better watch out, you psycho!" he shouted after them. "No one crosses James Anderson and gets away with it!"

"Watch me, dickwad!" Trisha screamed back, before turning around to flick him off. Laura and Adrien frog marched her into the school before Trisha could sprout claws or something and go back to finish him off.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sam bent down; Poop-a-scoop clutched in hand as Nibbles the Bidoof released a particularly unpleasant sound and, putting it nicely, proceeded to empty his bowels all over the previously white floor.

"Again Nibbles, really?" Sam muttered. Just as he was about to scoop up the foul mess, a voice interrupted him.

"Hey."

Sam turned around to find the last person he expected leaning against a wall, watching him do his duty, so to speak.

"Crimson?" he asked bitterly. "What have you come for, to watch me clean up or something?"

Crimson raised an eyebrow. "If I'd have wanted to watch you scoop poop, I could've made a mint selling tickets. No, pass me your gloves and the instrument of dire smelliness."

"What?" Sam stood up, trying to ignore the as the groaning Bidoof made another mess. Crimson clicked her tongue impatiently. "Chuck me the gloves and the Poop-a-scoop!"

Sam peeled off his Marigolds, sighing with relief. "Why?" he asked. "Miss April thinks it was me. So it's my punishment, unless you fancy a week of that." He pointed to the dirty floor.

"Not anymore." Crimson sighed, pulling on the not-so yellow gloves. Sam raised his eyebrows questionably. "Athena gave me a good talking to and I kind of realised that I shouldn't have let you take the blame. It was my idea after all. So I went to see Miss April and she says you're off the hook. Free to go, and all that."

Sam grinned and happily handed over the Poop-a-scoop. "Looks like you can be nice after all."

"Whatever." Crimson half-growled, bracing herself for the task ahead. "Don't get used to it, okay? I won't be making a habit of it. Next time you fancy playing the hero, which by the way was a totally stupid and pointless thing to do, I will NOT be saving your ass."

"I'll make a note of it." Sam nodded, putting on a solemn expression. "Oh, and Crimson? Thanks."

"What the hell for?" Crimson asked, shaking her head. "Dumbass. Now get out of here before I chuck this stuff at your head." She dug the Poop-a-scoop into the pile gingerly.

By the look on Crimson's face, Sam could tell she wasn't kidding. He left before a flying missile of dung could lower his IQ points, still smiling to himself as he joined the others just as the bell rang for the beginning of lessons.

* * *

><p><strong>And there ya go. Last OC, yay!<strong>

**James Anderson by ShadowDragon654**

**Again, hoping no OOC-ness. Or too much of it anyway. **

**Please, make my day and review! Especially those with OC's, I appreciate the feedback. :) Thanks and till next time, toodle pip!**


	5. When Stunkies Attack

**HEYYA! Sory for the wait, but I have been studying for some stupid end of year exams. On top of homework. Life isn't fair! **

**Okay, this next chapter is dedicated to Just AJ, who has been waiting not so patiently for my**** updates and constantly motivates me to write. Thanks, pal. :)**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon. I don't even own the computer I typed this thing out on :( *sniffle***

* * *

><p>"Okay, now that everyone is back in their seats, we can get started." Miss Aprils turned towards the blackboard, chalk in hand as Laura shifted down her seat. Athena wafted her hand in front of her face. Only Devin seemed fine, looking ahead, eyes slightly glazed over.<p>

The two girls and Devin had an unfortunate seating arrangement. They were sandwiched between the two clean-up duty pupils, Sam and Crimson, who both stank to high heaven. And that was putting it mildly. Corey was on Sam's other side, so he received a nosefull too.

Everyone had been put back in their original seating positions after a new chair had been brought in to the classroom. This meant that whilst the three boys and Laura, Crimson and Athena were back together, the other side of the room was not so happy. HK was on one end, absent-mindedly fiddling with his school uniform. He was sitting next to Richard, who was ignoring both the unusual boy on one side and the massive dickhead on the other.

James was pleased when he ended up next to Adrien. The girl was obviously flattered by the attention and she was fit enough for his tastes. It also amused him having Trisha nearby. He refused to give in to her rebuffs and ignored the glares he got whenever he put a hand on Adrien's knee, or an arm snaked around her chair. James wished Alina would turn round so he could flirt with her too, but she was obviously engrossed in the lesson.

Alina was the only one bothering to pay attention. She was sitting up straight, obviously somewhat intrigued by the lecture. She must have not bothered to read about Ranger basics then, Laura thought. Everyone else in the room evidently knew this stuff already. Either that Alina was sucking up.

Laura however was trying to figure out how Devin could somehow stand the stench. She nudged him. "Oi," she whispered. "Doesn't the smell bother you?"

Devin shook his head and grinned, but before he could reply Miss Aprils turned round and addressed the class again. "I will now hand out your school stylers."

"Sweet!" Corey grinned.

"Remember that these are not toys. Please be careful and look after them at all costs. They are quite expensive in the long run and it is not uncommon for us to have to confiscate them. So make sure you _behave_." This last sentence was addressed directly to Crimson, who looked down as Miss Aprils began setting out the stylers on the desks.

"Now, we shall begin with one of the most important things a Ranger must learn- how to perform a Target Clear," Miss Aprils continued. "The fundamentals are simple. You just..."

Laura slumped further down her desk. Today was going to be a very long day.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The rest of the day past without much incident, as did both the rest of the week and weekend. Sooner than any of them would have liked (with the possible exception of Alina) it was Sunday night.

Just before lights out the girl's dormitories were a lively place, with pillow fights, gossiping and the occasional juicy drama. The six pre-rangers were sitting on Laura and Athena's bunk beds, one of a set of six which lined the walls of the room. The walls were a ghastly yellowish colour and the personal effects of girls filled up the large dresser at the end of the room. Athena had never seen the boy's room but gathered from Sam and Corey that it was pretty much the same.

Crimson punched a triumphant fist in the air. "Clean-up duty is finally over!" she announced happily.

"Thank Arceus, you've finished stinking up the whole place now." Athena smirked. Crimson raised her eyebrow at her. "Well, I seem to remember _someone_ else being involved in that little prank..."

Athena shifted uncomfortably as Laura spoke up, combing through her wet hair. "I hope that the lessons are a bit more interesting this week."

"Yeah," Trisha agreed, currently preoccupied in painting her toenails in every single colour known to mankind. "They were just so boring!"

"What you dolling yourself up for?" asked Adrien who was tapping out a little rhythm on the wooden bedside post. Athena wanted to tell her to stop but didn't have the energy. And besides, at least Adrien wasn't going on about James again. Athena didn't think she could stand anyone even mentioning the boy's name. They may have been there only a week, but it was already common knowledge that James was a stuck-up, perverse pig who would not take no for an answer.

Unfortunately Adrien had somehow convinced herself that he was 'nicer then he seems' despite the fact that he spent half his time flirting with girls and the other moaning about the state of the school.

Trisha looked down, giggling. "Corey asked me to meet him tonight." She whispered, blushing slightly. Athena rolled her eyes. "You do realise almost all of us are sneaking out tonight?"

Trisha groaned. "I thought it was just the two of us!"

"Sorry," Crimson grinned. "I know Tin Can, Sir Laze-a-lot and Mr. Scoop da Poop will be there, not sure about Richie the Robot though. And Little Miss Goody-two-shoes isn't coming either."

Athena quickly translated this: Devin, Corey and Sam were going to show, no one knew about Richard and Alina was obviously not invited.

Athena decided she deserved an award for figuring out all that. God, Crimson was hard work.

"What about Freak-boy and Little Lord Fauntleroy?" Athena asked. "For all you non-insult speakers out there, that's HK and James." She added.

Crimson made a face. "No way in hell!"

Alina meanwhile had been listening in on their conversation. "You know you will just get in trouble." She sniffed, obviously still sore on not being invited.

Laura smiled. "We'll be fine."

"It's not exactly rocket science." Trisha added.

Adrien was annoyed. "What do you mean James won't be there?" she asked, outraged. Crimson snorted. "Because he's a dick."

Athena, Laura and Trisha all nodded in agreement. Adrien frowned and turned away, instead to continue tapping on the bedpost. Athena sighed and dug out her ipod. Sooner or later she was going to go insane.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin sniggered as Corey attempted to balance his styler on the end of his nose. The two boys alongside Sam and Richard were trying to kill time before meeting up with a few of the girls after hours.

"You look like a right idiot!" laughed Sam, before reaching over and flicking the styler off the end of Corey's nose. Corey frowned. "That was my best turn yet!" he said half-jokingly.

Devin scoffed. "A Dunsparce has better balance then you!"

"Oh yeah?" huffed Corey. "Fine, YOU do better then!" he shoved the styler into Devin's hands, but before he could move it was plucked from his outstretched palm.

"It's easy." Richard carefully titled his head back and balanced the styler gingerly. "Watch and learn."

Over the past week, Richard had slowly opened up, becoming in general a nicer guy to be around. But he was still stuck with the nickname Richie the Robot, and even if he went into lessons the next day dressed as a clown and laughing maniacally whilst juggling on a unicycle, he was stuck with it.

Devin, Corey and Sam watched intensely as Richard continued concentrating. Never had a moment so tense occurred in the boy's dormitories then this. The styler remained perfectly still even when HK began performing some weird end-of-day ritual and James stormed out of the bathroom, having previously locked himself in there three hours ago to do some rigorous perfectioning to his body.

"Queers." James sneered as the three boys leapt back.

Devin frowned but didn't say anything. As well as being a humungous asshole, James had also revealed himself as a homophobic, racist and sexist pig. Not that it bothered the girls, Devin thought glumly.

Despite the commotion going on, Richard was still balancing the styler.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1!" Sam grinned. "There goes your feeble record Corey!" Corey shook his head in defeat, pretending to look upset. "Oh, woe is me!" he wailed theatrically.

"Retards." James muttered, before approaching the other end of the room, pausing only to shove HK out of his way.

Devin watched him go. "That guy seriously needs sorting out." He said quietly. Richard carefully removed the styler from his face and handed to Corey, his expression unreadable.

"I really hate people like that." Richard muttered.

Just as Devin was about to open his mouth to reply, Janice pounded on the door to tell them to sleep. "Don't make me come in there!" she threatened.

Devin climbed into the bunk bed he shared with Sam and pretended to sleep. The plan was to sneak out as soon as James and HK fell dozed off, but Devin seriously doubted he could keep his eyes open that long.

The others are gonna kill me, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Laura drowsily lifted her head as she felt Athena descend the ladder next to her feet. "Is it time?" she whispered. Athena nodded, and placed a finger over her lips. The two girls then proceeded to alert all the others who were coming, and left quietly.

"Where are the boys?" Crimson asked in hushed tones when they reached the landing outside of both rooms. "They were meant to meet us here!"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Knowing that lot, they probably all forgot."

"Rude!"

Laura and the others turned around to the three grinning faces and one expressionless one.

"Didn't know you were coming, Richie." Athena said, surprised. Richard grunted. "Yeah, well here I am."

"What took you so long?" asked Trisha, sidling up to Corey. "Devin fell asleep." Corey explained. Devin gave a sheepish grin as he continued. "It took us almost five minutes to wake him. I was so tempted to shove his styler up his-"

"Alright, we get it." Laura interrupted. "Devin likes sleep. Let's go." Crimson, who had the idea in the first place and thus regarded herself in charge thank you VERY much, glared at Laura before grinning. "Ándale! Ándale! Let's move!"

The students quietly made their way downstairs, muffling giggles and whispering to each other quietly. Laura ended up next to Devin, with Athena and Richard close behind.

"Hey," Laura lowered her voice. "I never, you know, said thank you for helping me on the first day. And lying for me. So, uh… thanks, I guess."

Devin grinned. "Anytime," he replied, whispering. "Though you do realize that every single student knows that you fell through those gates, right?"

"WHAT?" Laura asked so loudly everyone turned around and hit her with a big fat "SHHH!"

"Sorry," she whispered. "What do you mean they all know? How?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly rocket science. Lying can only get you so far." And with those wise words of wisdom, Devin joined with Corey and Sam. Laura meanwhile turned around to see what Richard and Athena were discussing. Or rather, what they weren't discussing. The pair were walking along in an uncomfortable silence, though she could swear that Richard was blushing slightly.

"Okay, we're here." Crimson whispered from the front. "So let's-" She stopped, sniffing, her eyes watering. Finally, she let out a loud, "EUGH!"

Laura was about to ask why she was being so noisy when the stench hit her. It was disgusting. Like a mix of rotten eggs, foul fish and a butt that hadn't been wiped for Arceus knows how long. The students doubled up, choking on the foul aroma. Except for Devin, who stood there, completely non-plussed.

"What is it?" he asked bewildered.

"Ugh, Tin Can, how can you possibly not smell that?" Crimson gasped.

"What died in here?" Trisha asked, coughing. Sam nodded. "It's almost as bad as using the bog (**AN: toilet, if you didn't know**) after Corey!"

"Hey!" Corey protested. "I'm not that bad!"

"On curry nights, you definitely are." Sam responded. Corey opened his mouth to retaliate when Adrien shrieked, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound. "Something- something moved!" she quivered, pointing in to the dark shadows.

"Maybe it's a ghost…" Trisha whimpered. Laura snorted in contempt, before immediately wishing she hadn't. "A ghost that emits foul odours?" she asked skeptically.

Corey walked forwards, determined to prove he wasn't a coward. "See Adrien?" he grinned, walking further and further down the hall. "There's nothing there- OH MY ARCEUS SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED MY LEG! MUMMY!" he squealed, and ran back to the others, shaking like a Jellicent.

Once everyone had recovered Crimson spoke first. "Mummy?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as everyone else laughed, including Corey.

"What can I say?" he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm a family man."

"So, just before you ran back screaming like a little girl (Corey: "Little girl? That's harsh.") what actually happened?" asked Athena.

"Something brushed against my leg. It was warm and fuzzy and slightly sticky and urgh!" Corey shuddered.

"So not a ghost then." confirmed Adrien.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Crimson said drily. Adrien glared at her. "Anyone know a Pokémon like that?"

Devin screwed up his face in thought. "I know!" he said excitedly. Everyone turned to face him. "What?" asked Laura. "Um, well... okay, I don't know." Devin admitted. "I don't think it's a Rock type though." He added unhelpfully.

Athena tutted. "We'd never have guessed that!" she said sarcastically. "Thank you Devin, for enlightening us all."

Devin rolled his eyes, but didn't reply. "So, what is it then?" asked Adrien nervously. Trisha shook her head. "I don't know, but let's go find out!" she walked slowly to the middle of the room.

"Trisha!" Sam hissed, and made to go after her. Before he could though, Crimson grabbed his arm, clearly amused. "Let's wait and see what happens." She grinned. "It'll certainly be... interesting."

Trisha meanwhile had made her way to the centre of the room. Laura followed her nervously. "Can you see anything?" she whispered. Trisha nodded and pointed. "There," she said her voice shaking slightly as she pointed towards the centre of the room. "Right in the middle."

Laura squinted and followed her gaze to where Trisha was pointing. There were several large shadows (Laura counted at least five) shuffling and snorting about. "Oh my..." Laura caught her breath.

"Guys, get over here," Laura called. "There's definitely something here, whether Pokémon or not I can't tell."

Trisha bent down, approaching one of the shadows. "Keep back!" Laura warned. "It could be dangerous."

Trisha ignored her and approached one of the moving shapes. "Hey," she said quietly, lowering her voice to calm the creature. "Are you lost? Do you need some help?"

The creature approached her cautiously, before suddenly turning around. Trisha found herself confronted by a large, purple, very fuzzy butt. Laura cursed as she recognised the Pokémon.

"Trisha, get out the way!" she yelped. But it was too late. A foul, noxious stench filled the air as Trisha keeled over backwards, the same stunned look on her face.

Laura heard the others arrive behind her. "Laura, what's happen- oh Arceus." Adrien stopped as she caught sight of Trisha. "Adrien, get Janice now." Laura ordered. "Corey, you move Trisha. Try and wake her up."

Corey stepped forward and carefully picked up Trisha's limp body, before carrying er over to the base of the staircase. Devin stepped forward, pulling out his styler. "And we'll catch these."

Laura trembled slightly as she took her own styler into her hands. Aside from the entrance exam and couple of tries in class, Laura (like everyone else) had never attempted to capture a Pokémon before. Athena was shaking too, as was Devin and Sam. Even Crimson didn't look her usual cocky self. Only Richard (surprise surprise) remained emotionless.

"Capture ON!" the six students cried out in unison. Laura extended her styler and side-stepped one of the Pokémon charging. "STUNKYYYY!" It cried in a surprisingly high pitched tone. The Skunk Pokémon was unusually robust, it's deep purple coat gleaming and its whiskers perked. Its tail rose high in the air.

Laura took a deep breath. Focus, she told herself. Not concentrating now would be bad. Focus on the Stunky. She raised her styler in the air and began to draw loops around the Pokémon, cursing when it broke the circle. This was going to be tougher then she thought.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Meanwhile, Athena was trying a slightly different approach. "Here, Stunky Stunky," she cooed. "Who's a good Stunky? You are. Yes you are, yes you ARE!"

Crimson glanced over. "Are you capturing it or mothering it?" she sneered. Unfortunately, this broke her concentration. The Stunky she was attempting to capture charged, and Crimson froze.

"Crimson, move!" Athena yelled, watching helplessly as her friend stood still. There was no way she could reach her in time, and her hands were already tied with the Stunky she was faced with. But she had to try. Just as Athena was about to leap in front of her friend Crimson was pushed out of the way, landing hard on the floor. Sam stood over her, panting hard.

"Why didn't you move?" he demanded, but stopped when Crimson raised a shaking hand. Behind Sam the two Stunkies had gathered.

Athena swore loudly as the Stunky broke her Capture Line. She backed away, and accidently tripped over Crimson's long legs, ending up down in on the floor with an "OOF!" She watched as her Stunky joined the fray threatening to attack them. Sam stood in front of the two girls, and threw his arms wide as a shield. "When they attack, you two move." He ordered, glancing back.

"Sam..." Crimson gasped. "I said you two move!" he repeated firmly. Crimson just nodded dumbly. Athena watched in horror as Sam closed his eyes, bracing himself for the hit. The three Stunkies looked incredibly mad now, small clouds of gas erupting from behind them. The biggest one in the middle bellowed a war cry. Athena turned her head, unable to look.

"Need a hand?" Athena looked up at Devin's grinning face. He and Laura had completed their captures and whilst Laura looked a little worse for wear, her blond hair frizzy and tangled and her face dripping with sweat, they both seemed unharmed. Richard completed his looping and turned around, Stunky standing loyally by his side.

"Sam, take the two girls and move." Richard commanded. "We'll handle these ones." Athena nodded as Sam hauled her up, watching over her shoulder as the three pre-rangers walked forward and began to draw the Capture Lines. Devin was a natural. In no time at all, he had the second Stunky calmed down. It began walking around him, purring slightly. Athena wondered how Devin could handle the stench. She could still smell it from her position at the bottom of the stairs.

Laura completed hers next, and staggered off to the nearest plant pot, green in the face. Athena looked away as some rather unpleasant retching noises were emitted, uncomfortably loud in the otherwise silent hall.

Richard had decided to laden himself with the leader; the biggest, meanest Stunky Athena had ever laid eyes on. Its eyes glinted ferociously as it stared Richard down. Richard glared straight back, sweat breaking his brow as he carefully drew loops around the angry creature. The Stunky kept attempting to break the Capture Line and almost succeeded twice, but eventually Richard calmed the beast.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin sighed with relief as Richard Captured the final Stunky. It soon quietened down and ran off to join its brethren, who were currently all scraping at the previously well polished floor of the hall.

He turned round and offered Laura a hi five. "You did great!" He smiled, before backing away slightly. "Er, you're not gonna spew on me too are you?" he asked, eyebrows raised. She opened her mouth to retaliate when a very angry, very high pitched and very sleep deprived voice filled the hall.

"WHAT ON EARTH HAS HAPPENED IN HERE?"

Devin gulped and turned around to see the four people he had really hoped would not be standing there. Was it too much to ask, he thought, that the teachers all stayed asleep as the school was trashed by its pupils?

Evidently so, he concluded as he looked over to a very furious Miss Aprils, still in her dressing gown with some kind of gunk smeared all over her face. The male teacher, Mr Johnson, had pink hair curlers in his hair. Janice was wearing a Jigglypuff night cap. The only person who didn't look like they'd just emerged from a horror film was Principal Lamont. He looked reasonably sane and unzombie-like as he descended the staircase in his regular tie and suit.

Devin sometimes wondered if this man ever slept. Maybe he was a vampire and the other three members of staff were his zombie minions. Count Lamont. Didn't quite have the same ring as Dracula, did it?

Laura glanced anxiously at him, and Devin nodded. This was going to take some explaining.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, I hope no one was too OOC. I really enjoyed writng this chapter and I'm sorry if your character wasn't exactly in the limelight, I promise to try and give them some more screen time next time round. <strong>

**So, what should you do next? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	6. Anosay WHAT?

**Hey there loyal readers, I'm sorry for the wait! Here's my 'excuse' this time: Extreme Procrastination.**

**To make it up to you guys I did a small segment at the end involving everyone's favourite character James! I bet you can't WAIT to read it can you?**

**Well, tough Poke Balls. You have to. :P**

**Warning: This chapter contains some more sad stuuuurrrfff. **

**Disclaimer: I... I OWN POKEMON! YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS! Wait... WHADDAYA MEAN IT'S SPAM MAIL?**

* * *

><p>"… You all better have a good reason for yesterday night, which I severely doubt! I cannot believe how foolish and reckless you all were…"<p>

Athena zoned out as Miss Aprils continued her furious lecture on her and her seven unfortunate classmates. After the events of the previous night the guilty students had been ordered to return to bed immediately with warnings of a terrible punishment the next morning. After breakfast the guilty party had been frogmarched into Miss Aprils' office, where they had been for the last half an hour, suffering this dreadful lecture.

Athena had naturally barely slept with that threat hanging over her head. That and the fact that she was worried sick about Trisha.

Janice had taken one look at Trisha and had rung for an ambulance instantly. They had arrived on the scene in less than half an hour and had rushed Trisha to hospital under the statement that her situation was serious, and that was all the pupils knew.

"ATHENA WHITERAVEN, PAY ATTENTION!"

Athena jumped. "Sorry Miss Aprils!"

Corey sent her a grimace as Miss Aprils descended on her in full-on fury mode. "Stand up straight when I'm talking to you! And wipe that smirk off your face! This is an incredibly serious matt- CRIMSON STOP LAUGHING NOW!"

Athena turned over to face her friend, guiltily pleased that she was no longer the main focus of her teacher's anger. She glanced at the rest of her companions. Richard was as usual unemotional, whilst Devin was twiddling his thumbs, evidently as bored as she was. Corey eyes were glazing over; Sam was staring at his feet and Adrien had decided that the elaborate designs on the wall opposite were incredibly intriguing. The only person listening was Laura, and she looked like she was on the brink of tears. Must not be used to trouble then, Athena concluded, sighing inwardly. Some people had it so easy…

_*Flashback*_

_Rain pounded against the hard ground of the cemetery, eroding away the eon old headstones that stood at the foot at the burial grounds of the long deceased. A freshly dug hole was surrounded by a small group of people wearing the appropriate black clothing, dabbing faces with handkerchiefs as a small coffin was lowered into the ground, a pastor at the head praying._

_Nine year-old Athena stood in the graveyard for the second time in three days. She thought it couldn't have been worse when they buried Juliana, but she was wrong. This was much worse. _

"_Jonathan was a cheerful soul, always entertaining his family with his many ideas and games. He-"_

_The rain mingled with the tears streaming down Athena's cheeks. Her mother stood nearby, weeping in her father's arms, belly swollen with her four month pregnancy. Nearly the whole family had turned out to offer sympathy and apologies, to give hugs and kisses and loving embraces._

_Athena hated it. She deserved none of it. She'd let Johnnie die. _

_More tears joined the fast flowing river on her face, some flowing into her mouth and nearly choking her with their salty taste. She watched as the last of the soil covered the elm coffin, the dirt covering one of the last traces of Jonathan's existence. Soon the only proof that her brother ever existed would be a headstone amongst hundreds of others, like every other one. A date, a name and a message. _

"_Goodbye, Johnnie." Athena whispered, the wind pulling at her long hair as she slowly crept away from the graveyard. Her parents wouldn't miss her. After all, they blamed her too. _

_Because it was all her fault. _

_All her fault. _

"All my fault." Athena muttered, then looked around, realising where she was. Miss Aprils was still shouting, her classmates were still dying from either boredom, terror or lack of emotion.

Athena swore under her breath as she felt the familiar sensation of blood trickling down her face.

"Excuse me Miss Aprils, can I get a tissue?" Athena asked thickly, the thick liquid beginning to drip down her chin.

Miss Aprils paused mid-rant. "Infirmary. Richard, you take her."

Richard's face lit up slightly at the prospect of escaping the rest of the lecture. He nodded before taking Athena's arm and leading her towards the door of the office.

"Let go!" Athena squirmed as soon as they were outside.

"Sorry." Richard released her, before pulling something creased and slightly yellow out of his trouser pocket. "Tissue?" he offered.

"Um, no thanks."

Richard nodded and began ascending the stairs to the infirmary, a path they were both all too familiar with. Athena followed suit.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they continued climbing the stairs. Athena barely noticed the older boy's presence, too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

It was only when she actually bumped into him at the top of the stairs that Athena acknowledged him again. "Watch where you're going!" she scolded.

Richard frowned. "You walked into me."

"You stopped walking. Why?"

Richard slowly reached out and stroked her cheek gently. Athena flinched at the foreign touch, but remained motionless as Richard silently caressed her cheek. Eventually after what felt like an age he removed his hand.

"You're crying." He stated simply. Athena blinked, before noticing the quiet tears rolling down her face, mixing with the blood trickling out her nose. She shook her head furiously. "It's nothing… I'm fine!"

"Why are you crying?" Richard asked softly. "Does it hurt?"

"No, because having bucket loads of blood pouring out of your nose doesn't hurt one little bit!" Athena snapped. Richard backed off, wounded. "No need for that, Princess."

Athena winced at the nickname. "Yeah, sorry…."

Richard motioned for her to continue.

"Look, like I said it's nothing, okay? I get nosebleeds and I cry. Sue me." And with that Athena carried on down the corridor, bursting into the infirmary and slamming the door, leaving a completely confused Richard in her wake.

Only when the echo of Richard's footsteps had ceased did Athena begin to cry fully, her face quickly evolving into a blotchy red mess.

She was tired. Fed up and tired of bad dreams, tears and nosebleeds. Sick and tired of memories controlling her life.

"I didn't have to be so mean to him…" Athena muttered, trying to compose herself. "He was only trying to help…"

Athena swiped some of the tissues on the window ledge before disappearing into the infirmary bathroom and bolting the door behind her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Adrien sighed at the loud conversation around the lunch table increased in volume even more. There were five people missing from their usual crew; James had gone to flirt with some wannabe Operators, Alina and HK were eating by themselves, Athena was still in the infirmary and Trisha…

She half-heartedly picked at her spaghetti bolognaise, tapping out a regular pattern with her fork on the oak table. _One two three, One two three…_

She shouldn't have come with the others. It had been a stupid idea.

_Yes, that's right, stupid. It was stupid. You were stupid. You ARE stupid._ The voices taunted her.

Shut up! Adrien told herself. Go away. _One two three, one two three…_

"You okay?"

"Huh?" Adrien looked up, to see Laura's round face glancing at her anxiously. She forced a smile. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."

_Liar!_ The voices cackled gleefully. _You're such a liar. _

SHUT UP!

_And it's your fault that Trisha was hurt. _

How'd you work that out then?

_Ah,_ the voices said smugly. _Because you ignored us. You stopped tapping. And if you don't tap, bad things happen. _

T-t-that's not true!

_Then why are you doing it now?_

Adrien started. She realised the voices were right as her left hand continued knocking her fork against the table in a repeatedly steady manner. _One two three, one two three, one two three…_

"One two three…" Adrien murmured, and then looked around, hoping no one had heard her. Luckily they were still wrapped up in their own conversation to notice her.

_One two three…_

What's wrong with me? Adrien silently screamed. It's not… you're not coming back again… you can't… can you?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Devin and most of the other pre-rangers were fuming at their unjust and should-be-illegal punishment.

"Two weeks of clean-up duty and detention, plus no going into town for a month!" he moaned.

"Whining about it doesn't help!" Sam snapped.

"Oh yeah?" Devin snarled. "Well your annoying little voice isn't helping about it either!"

"Oh, real mature Devin!" Sam scowled.

"Ditto to you-"

"SHUT IT!"

The two boys turned round to the speaker who standing up, fists clenched, hair dangling in front of her face.

"Trisha… Trisha's in hospital because of us and all you can think of to do is argue with each other?" Adrien sobbed.

Sam and Devin looked at each other uneasily. Sam spoke first. "We're sorry Adrien, we didn't mean…" he trailed off at the look Adrien gave him.

"Didn't mean? Oh yeah, that makes everything _so_ much better! We should never have gone in the first place!"

Devin tried a different tact. "Please calm down Adrien… I'm sure Trisha will be fine."

Adrien gulped and nodded, settling back into her seat. Crimson smirked. "Nice one bozos."

Devin glared at her as Crimson laughed. "I don't know about you losers, but I'm certainly not going to be staying out of town for a month!"

Laura sighed. "Not more rule breaking…"

"Au contraire," Crimson tapped the side of her nose. "This time it's for a good cause." She glanced nervously at Adrien as the others snorted.

"Yeah, right." Richard scoffed.

"Why does your definition of 'a good cause' worry me tremendously?" Laura asked frowning.

Crimson sighed dramatically. "Oh ye of little faith! Have hope, good fellows, for justice shall prevail!" She cleared her throat. "I was thinking."

"There's a shocker..." Sam muttered. Crimson glowered at him before continuing. "We could get midget (Laura: "Nicknames are getting old…") some get well soon presents; you know to cheer her up…"

Crimson was cut off as Adrien enveloped her in a giant Slakoth hug. "That's a great idea!"

Devin watched in amazement, trying to hold of laughter as Crimson awkwardly patted Adrien on the back whilst trying (and failing) to prise her off. When she succeeded Corey, who had previously been silently eating for the rest of the lunch hour turned to her.

"I'm coming."

Crimson nodded, grinning. "Who else?"

Laura shook her head. "Not me, I'm in enough trouble already. I'll cover for you guys though."

"Is that such a good idea?" Devin asked. "No offence, but you suck balls at lying."

Laura glared at him. "Do you want my help or not?"

Devin gulped; that girl had one scary evil eye. He nodded before smiling at Crimson. "Count me in."

The rest of the group nodded when an unexpected voice spoke up. "Can we come too?"

Devin turned around to find HK and Alina standing behind them, arms folded. Crimson opened her mouth as Alina hurriedly continued. "You didn't let us come last time. Please, we care about Trisha too!"

HK confirmed this with a nod. Devin glanced at their faces, HK's eager and Alina's nervous but determined. "The more the merrier." He grinned. Crimson was about to protest when Devin cut across her. "Oh come on Crimson, what harm can it do?"

"You can't exactly stop us coming either," HK pointed out. "We're not banned."

"But-"

"Crimson, shut up!" Richard barked. Crimson shut up, but she didn't look happy about it.

Alina and HK sat down next to Laura. "So, what happened last night?" HK asked. "And I want the details."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

It took a lot of explaining, a bit of enacting and some rather unpleasant farting noises (most of these volunteered by Devin, Sam and Corey) but eventually HK and Alina got the gist of what had happened. Alina was shaking slightly but HK was intrigued.

"So what you're saying is the Stunkies were in good quality?" HK asked for the hundredth time. He's talking about them like they're boxes, not Pokémon, Laura thought, mildly shocked.

Crimson sighed. "For the billionth time freak-boy yes, they were healthy!"

"Just checking."

The rest of the students groaned inwardly. HK had been 'just checking' their entire story all the way through, from the moment where they first smelt the Stunkies foul odour to when the teachers came storming in. He was even cross-referencing their versions of the previous night. Hell, it was like a police inspection!

"Hmm…" HK mused.

"Hmm what?" Crimson snapped. "Woah, easy tiger." Sam frowned. "Let the genius work it out."

After a further five minutes of "Hmm's" and "Ah's" and "Ah-ha's!" HK leant back in his seat, evidently pleased with himself.

Devin looked like he could burst from excitement. "So?" Laura nodded eagerly. She was intrigued to see what HK had come up with. He was supposed to be the smartest, after all.

"So what?" HK frowned. "I just decided what I want to eat tonight."

"…" There was a collective 'THWACK!' as everyone at the table facepalmed.

"… Ohhh, you meant the Stunkies!" HK exclaimed. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Everyone groaned.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" he asked smugly. "They were let in on purpose."

The student's jaws dropped. "How- how do you know?" Corey managed to ask weakly.

"I guess it isn't so obvious then…" HK sighed, and then leant forward again. "Here's how I can tell. One, they were obviously in good quality (Crimson: "HEALTHY! They were HEALTHY!" Everyone else: "SHUT UP CRIMSON!"), so they couldn't have been wild. Wild Pokémon have matted fur and are skinnier then the ones you've described. Someone must have been taken care of them."

The rest of the table sat in silence, even Crimson, as HK continued speaking. "Two, there was no signs of an entrance by them right? So someone had to have broken in or opened from the inside to let the Pokémon enter. Stunkies can't climb and they aren't Psychic types or possess psychic powers like Ninetales do. It was the work of a human."

It said something about HK that he called people by their scientific name instead of just people, Laura thought absent-mindedly, before pushing the thought to the back of her mind.

"And finally, three. I found this whilst going for my early morning walk." HK dived under the table for his bag. Numerous items flew out in frenzy, including a guide book on Veiltown, a Jolteon toothbrush, an apple core, some mysterious sticky green something and a wooden block that was meant to resemble a Pikachu but looked more like a constipated Dunsparce.

"Here it is!" he cried, emerging victorious.

"What is it?" Crimson sneered. "A blanky for when you get lonely?"

Sam turned round to her. "Crimson, if you're going to keep making snide comments all the time, just leave."

"All right," Crimson sounded hurt. "No need for that."

Meanwhile everyone else had turned back to the item in HK's hand. "What is it?" asked Richard as he strained his neck for a better view.

"It's an identification card?" Laura volunteered. HK nodded, pleased. "Precisely! So it's wise to assume that whoever let the Stunkies in last night dropped this whilst trying to escape. Unfortunately," he continued, "it was raining last night so the large majority of the text has been washed away."

Laura glanced at the card and saw to her dismay that HK was indeed right. There was no picture left on the card and the remaining text was blurred and distorted.

N-me: -h- n –e-w-n-l-

A-e: -5

DO-: -/-7/-

R-n-: -u-

Bo-s: Ge-a- H-w-e-

"Wow." Devin muttered. "That sure makes sense."

HK looked slightly upset. Alina glared at Devin before speaking comfortingly to him, "You did great! If it weren't for you we wouldn't have even known there were intruders!"

HK perked up. "Really?"

"Really!"

Crimson rolled her eyes but with a look from Sam didn't say anything. "So what now?" he asked.

Richard spoke up. "I vote we stay silent for now, until we worked some more things out."

Everyone nodded in agreement, Laura included. "If we go to the teachers now we'd probably just get in even more trouble." She shuddered at the idea of another Miss Aprils rant.

"One last thing. I answered all your questions, and now I've got one." HK turned to Devin, who gulped. "How did you not smell the Stunkies?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah, and you couldn't smell Sam and Crimson when they were on clean-up duty either!"

"Shut up!" Sam and Crimson yelled at the same time. "We're all going to smell like that soon enough…" Adrien inputted gloomily.

"Thanks for that." Corey frowned, before turning to Devin. "So how come you couldn't smell the Stunkies?"

"Or Corey's socks?"

"Hey!" Corey turned to Sam, who shrugged.

"What, they stink! Ever heard of a washing machine?"

"Oi, do you want to know or not?" Devin asked heatedly, waiting until he had commanded full attention before starting to speak again.

"I have anosmia**(1)**." Devin beamed at his classmates, all who were wearing the same 'wtf is he talking about?' face.

"Anosmia is when you have no sense of smell. It can be from birth, or like mine it can be caused by trauma." Devin explained.

There was a collective "Ohhhhhhhh!" from his classmates as Devin facepalmed. "In other words, I can't smell."

"You mentioned trauma." Laura began carefully. "Did- did something happen?"

Devin's face darkened but before he could answer, the bell rang to signal the start of lessons. The students frantically began scraping the remains of their food into the bins as Devin uttered a long sigh. "Saved by the bell." He muttered, chuckling to himself. "Lucky escape there…"

Laura looked around but no one else seemed to have heard him. She made a mental note to ask him later as she hurried after the rest of her friends to the dull afternoon lessons, mind spinning with all that had happened.

* * *

><p><strong>And without further ado, I present James's best Pokemon pick up lines!<strong>

James: I'm here to teach you boys who, unlike me, are unable to get girlfriends because you lack my talent *smirks* good looks and charm. Here's how you do it. Hey Crimson!

Crimson: *sighs* what?

James: *wraps arms around her waist* I think I'm gonna need a burn heal 'cause you're so hot...

Crimson: I think I'm gonna need a barf bag 'cause you make me wanna spew. *SLAP!*

James: Okaaaayy... let's try Laura. Hey babes, are you a Hitmonlee? 'Cause your body is kickin'!

Laura: Are you a Vileplume? 'Cause your body is like a giant weed. *SLAP!*

James: OWWWWWW... *winces* Athena then! *winks at her* You're gonna be Weezing after I'm done with you...

Athena: You're gonna be Weezing after I kick you in the Poke Balls. *KICK!*

James: eeeeeeehhhhh... *voice grows unnaturally high* You remind me of Deoxys, you're out of this world.

Trisha: You remind me of Muk, you belong in a sewage pipe. And what the hell is up with your voice? *walks off laughing*

James: Dammit! That's it. Adrien, sweetheart. Let's make like a Super Rod and hook up.

Adrien: *giggles*... okay!

Girls: TRAITOR!

James: Sorry girls, but this is one Pokemon who's already been captured. *winks*

Girls: *facepalm*

James: And that's how to do it!

* * *

><p><strong>1: Devin's condition is actually real. Go ask Wikipedia if you don't believe me.<strong>

**James, you fail. LOL! XD**

**Okay, now I'm gonna do some shameless advertising. If you've got a birthday coming up, PM me the date, your OC and Pokemon of choice and using that Pokemon I will brutally murder your OC in my story Pokemon Horrore. Aren't I wonderful?**

**One rule: No ridiculous Pokemon, like someone getting mauled to death by a Dunsparce or something. -_-**

**Devin's already dead (sorry about that!) so anyone else fancy a grim horror story concerning your OC as a birthday prezzie off yours truly? Like I said PM me the details. Thanks!**

**Once again, sorry for any major OOCness and the wait. Please review and tell me what you think! Your reviews are what motivate me to write and I treasure them dearly. 'Cept the flames. I. Hate. Flames. **

**Peace Out! XD **


	7. DoubleO Devin

**Hey guys, I'ma back! And I'm exhausted. I wrote this in like, one sitting so my brain is dead and I am in dire need of a good nap. **

**But I digrss. On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: *insert witty disclaimer about me not owning Pokemon here* **

* * *

><p>Trisha propped herself up in the crisp white bed, using the pillows for support as she was handed a tray with a small portion of shepherd's pie and a glass of water by a beaming nurse. "I know it's not much..." the young blonde woman reassured her. "But you're stomach isn't quite up for anything else yet."<p>

Trisha nodded in reply. "If you need anything just call me, okay?" the nurse smiled at her before leaving the room.

Trisha sighed as she glanced around the familiar four walls she had spent the last week or so in, according to the calendar on the wall. It was Saturday lunchtime.

The room was small, a narrow window beside her bed with the whitewashed door opposite her feet. On her left was a plastic set of drawers which were empty except for a change of clothes her worried mother had brought her.

Trisha winced at the memory- that sure as hell had NOT been a pleasant visit. Her mum had fretted over every tiny detail of her care before giving her the scolding of her life- _"What on earth do you think you were doing, young lady? Wondering about after hours..." _whilst her younger brother had sat there alternating between sniggering and asking her the details of the event, generally causing Trisha all the more trouble as the whole story was reluctantly drawn out of her.

She scowled at the memory before clearing her throat and calling out. "You can come out now."

Slowly, a pair of diamond-like eyes began to form at the foot of the bed, quickly followed by a red gem situated below as the rest of the Pokémon shimmered into view. It was about half a metre in height, with a deep-purpled body humanoid in structure. The Pokémon raised its claws to scratch one of the protruding ears from its large head.

Trisha meanwhile clutched her duvet in shock. "Stop doing that Gem!" she sighed. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

The Sableye giggled as Trisha relaxed. "It's not funny." She huffed in mock indignity. Gem replied with a shrug before clambering over into Trisha's lap.

Trisha sighed, staring out the window. The gremlin-like Pokémon had been her only company for the last week and whilst she appreciated the companionship, Trisha was dying for news from her friends. The doctors had said she needed to be in hospital for a further week in case of 'complications' which was a load of Tauroshit to Trisha.

"I'm fine," she complained once again to the Sableye. "The only thing I'm at risk at is dying of boredom."

Gem responded by nodding half-heartedly, having heard the same lecture a dozen times before. She liked the girl but Arceus Trisha loved to moan.

Trisha nudged the Pokémon off her lap before beginning to eat her soggy shepherd's pie, sorely missing Janice's homemade cooking. I wonder what the others are doing now, she thought despondently.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Okay, so we all know our positions?" Devin asked the others, barely keeping the level of excitement out of his voice. Laura watched him with growing amusement.

The pre-rangers were sitting round the table in the middle of the common room, each observing with a varying degree of interest. Devin had situated himself at the head, with Corey on one side and Crimson on the other, Crimson looking especially unhappy about not heading up their plans for todays: Operation Sneak-out, as Devin had named it.

Adrien, Sam and Richard were studying the large diagram that had been drawn by the spymaster himself. And by studying, I mean attempting to decipher Devin's messy scrawl and incomprehensible drawings.

Alina and HK were busy too, sorting out the items needed for the days 'espionage'. The only one not doing anything was James, who had announced rather loudly that morning that he thought the whole plan was ridiculous. "And besides," he had smirked. "The only get-well gift Trisha will need is a glance at my handsome features."

Laura groaned, remembering the statement.

"Bad day, huh?"

Laura turned to the only other person who would be staying behind. "It starts up there, yeah."

Athena scoffed. The poor girl looked terrible, with massive bags under her eyes and her complexion turning a harrowing pale with each passing day. "Do you think he's ever going to _shut up_?" she asked Laura, pointing towards Devin.

Laura laughed. "He's in his element. There's no way Devin will shut up now."

Athena groaned. "Arceus save us all…"

"And quiet you two!" Devin commanded, gesturing at the two girls. "This is important! Now, as I was saying, Bidoof and Hoothoot will remain here to keep up appearances- yes Caterpie?"

"What I want to know," Sam drawled. "Is why the fuck we are using these stupid nicknames? And why am I 'Caterpie' when you get to be Rayquaza?"

Everyone else murmured in agreement.

"Because," Devin sounded hurt. "It makes it so much more official that way! And I'm in charge, so I get the coolest nickname! Now, Assistant Ponyta, you will be in charge of rounding up the Pokémon- which by the way guys is code for basically keeping an eye on everybody- so remember to take the register every half an hour…"

Laura zoned out, trying to stifle her giggles at the look on Crimsons face. Crimson seemed to not be able to decide what's worse- not being in command, having a Pokémon a temporary name or the fact that the person she was meant to obey was showing his true colours as a world-class moron.

Richard raised a hand.

"Yes Geodude?"

"Who's going in to give the gifts to Trisha?" Richard queried. Devin frowned, unhappy at his apparently perfect plan becoming unstuck. "Well…" he muttered, glancing round at the others.

Luckily for him Corey spoke up. "We already decided. Adrien and I will take the gifts."

Devin nodded, smiling triumphantly before clearing his throat. "Well there you have it! Budew and Assistant Slakoth will take the gifts to Cleffa."

"Trisha's not going to be too happy about the nickname 'Cleffa'." Corey muttered under his breath. Crimson nodded in agreement.

Devin raised his voice again. "Okay, well then let's move out!"

A few half-hearted cheers echoed around the room. Devin however seemed oblivious to the evident lack of enthusiasm.

"See ya, losers." James winked and stood up. "Well, all except you lovely ladies of course…" he stroked Adrien's cheek, who blushed a deep red.

"Uh…" she managed.

James grinned. "If any of you beautiful girls realise where the real funs at, I'll be waiting…" he blew them a kiss.

Laura and Athena shuddered. "What a creep." Athena mimed retching as James disappeared down the wooden staircase.

Devin was the first one to recover. "Come on, move it!"

Sam mock saluted him. "Sir, yes sir!" quickly bolting out the room before Devin got a chance to retaliate.

Richard started to walk over to Athena. However the girl shrugged him off, suddenly in a bad temper as she stomped over to the girls dormitories and slammed the door behind her. Richard shrugged before leaving, following the rest as they filed out.

Laura glanced curiously at his retreating back. Something's going on between those two, she thought, shrugging.

She quickly rolled up the plans which Devin, despite all his insistences on security, had left lying around for anyone to see, before heading to the girls dormitories.

Time to see what's up with Athena, she thought, as she opened the door.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"This was a terrible idea." Crimson said bluntly as the group stood in a sheltered corner of the Vientown market.

Devin huffed indignantly. "No it wasn't! You're just annoyed that I'm the one who came up with the idea in the first place!"

Corey sighed. "Alright, lovebirds, break it up." He flinched from the nasty glare sent to him by Sam as Crimson eyed Devin with distaste.

"As if." She snorted. Devin raised an eyebrow as Sam made an audible sigh of relief, causing him to receive many strange looks.

"Something you're not telling us Sam?" Adrien quipped. Sam blushed. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Sure…"

"I mean it!"

"Temper, temper…" Corey taunted, flashing a grin. "Someone's got the hots for Crimson!"

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Devin, sensing the mood, got there first. "Anyway," he cleared his throat. "It's time for us to split into our partners. Magnemite and Glameow, you two are together."

Alina and HK nodded. "Are you sure that is wise?" HK asked, frowning. "Surely we would be stronger as a group."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Devin grinned smugly. "If we're in a group, it would be easy for the enemy to spot us."

Corey groaned. "Teachers, Devin. Teachers."

"…And being sighted is a no-go." Devin continued, completely ignoring his friend. "So it has to be partners!" he beamed.

"Nerd alert!" Crimson smirked. Devin didn't bother to answer.

"Now, now Crimson." Sam taunted. "Leave the poor boy alone." The others laughed as Devin, unhappy with the label of 'boy', shoved him playfully. "I'm more of a man then you'll ever be!" he joked.

Sam grinned. "Whatever helps you sleep at night…"

Richard cleared his throat loudly. "You were saying?"

Devin frowned, before remembering that he was in charge. "Oh right! Um, so Magnemite and Glameow are together-"

HK frowned as Alina pulled him by the arm and dragged him away. "Watch it!" he yelped. "I'm sensitive!"

"And next we have Budew and Geodude!" Devin announced. Adrien squeaked as Crimson elbowed her. "What?" she asked indignantly, rubbing her wounded shoulder.

"Daydreamer, you and Ritchie the Robot are together. Not in that way, everyone knows that our robot friend has a little something for Princess-" Richard scowled. "That's none of your beedrill, Gingersnap."

Devin and Corey fought back an onslaught of giggles as Crimson's face lit up an angry shade of red. "And who do you think you're calling Gingersnap?" she demanded, hands on hips as she faced off the much taller male.

Richard tutted. "Who do you think?"

Crimson growled. "Watch it, metal man. I'll get you for that."

"Oh, I'm so scared." Richard mocked before tapping Adrien on the back and walking away. "C'mon, let's go."

Adrien followed, glancing back apologetically at a now fuming Crimson.

"Gingersnap… I'll show him…" she muttered angrily. Devin gulped before continuing his pairings. "I'll be with Assistant Slakoth, so that leaves you Caterpie with, uh, Assistant Ponyta."

Sam started. "W-what?"

Corey grinned. "You heard. Hey Devs, (Devin: "It's General Rayquaza!") let's leave. Give these two some 'alone' time." He snickered before heading off in the direction of the nearest stall with Devin high on his tail. He turned around, giving Sam a quick thumbs up and mouthing _good luck_ before scrambling after Corey.

Sam, inwardly cursing his luck and Devin's obvious attempt at matchmaking, turned around to face Crimson, whose face was still set in a scowl. He gulped.

"So, where do you want to go first?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Adrien dragged her feet as she and Richard toured the entire market-place. I wish we were in threes, she thought wistfully. Three is a much better number…

"Where are we going?" she asked Richard, who shrugged. "What about over there?" she suggested, pointing at a small market stall. Again, Richard remained mute except for a small grunt which Adrien translated as a yes.

They walked over to the stall in silence, Adrien having long given up trying to attempt any form of conversation, having noticed that Richard was not exactly the talkative type.

_No shit Sherlock! _The voices returned once again. Adrien frowned, shaking her head in a desperate attempt to clear her thoughts. Go away! She replied fiercely.

"We're here." Richard spoke up for the first time since they had been paired off. Adrien jumped; she had been so preoccupied with her inner battle that she had failed to notice that the two of them had arrived at the small market stall. It was bright; vivid cloths and flags hung over the counter littered with the owners wares. The shadow off the stall provided brief shelter from the boiling sun as they approached the salesman, a small balding man about the age of fifty with a ghastly suit and an oily comb over.

"Hello!" the salesman greeted them cheerfully. "Come for a look at my fine wares? What smart children you are!"

Richard shot Adrien a look, like _who the hell does he think he is? _before crossing his arms, evidently unimpressed by the mediocre sales pitch.

The salesman changed tact. "Shopping with your girlfriend?" he ventured, his shifty eyes glancing at the two. Adrien blushed. "Oh no, we're not a couple. We're here for our friend, she's very ill and we want to get her some get-well soon presents."

The salesman gave what was meant to be a heartfelt sigh. "Oh, how terrible! But please, do take your time." He retreated backwards staring at the two as they picked out their gifts and paid for them hastily.

"Thank you very much! You have wonderful taste." He simpered as the two walked away.

"So what now?" Adrien asked, not really expecting an answer. She wasn't disappointed. Instead of replying, Richard just shrugged.

Adrien opened her mouth to say something else when she was interrupted by a loud crashing noise, followed by the shrieks of the salesman and the cry of a Pokémon, clearly in distress.

Richard's head snapped towards the sound as he began sprinting back to the stall. "Wait- Ritchie where are you going?" Adrien called before running after him. "Ritchie wait up!"

From inside the stall came a prolonged whimpering noise, quickly drowned out by an angry cascade of shouting and the repeated thwack of wood upon skin.

Richard jumped over the stall as Adrien watched by nervously. "What are you doing?" she questioned. Richard made a shushing motion as the noise level increased.

Suddenly a scorpion-like Pokémon burst through the canvas at the back of the stall, causing Richard to leap back in fright.

The purple Pokémon was shivering, its claws clenching in fright as it leapt onto the wares table clumsily causing the items to crash to the floor. The blue membrane beneath the claws shielded the frightened Pokémon's face from view as it dug its stinger-armed tail into the beaten wood in a desperate attempt to regain its balance. "Gligar…" it whimpered upon sighting Richard and Adrien.

Adrien gasped as the Gligar turned around, revealing a streak of painful welts along its back, the most recent with blood dribbling down the FlyScorpion Pokémon's body.

The Pokémon leapt in fright as the salesman stumbled in, face purple with rage as he attempted to grab the wounded Pokémon by its neck. The Gligar yelped and dodged, crying in pain as more of the wounds on its back were ripped open.

"That'll teach you, you pathetic excuse for a Pokémon!" the salesman shouted. "Those jars were worth a lot of money, but you broke the lot! Next time you'll think twice about breaking my wares, accident or not!" He raised his arm, and Adrien gasped in horror as she realised the man was carrying a large thick branch, the tip carved into a vicious point. The length was stained red with what Adrien grasped to be the poor Pokémon's blood.

"Stop it!" she shrieked and leapt in front of the Gligar. The man ignored her however, and swung his stick again. Adrien winced, bracing herself for the expected pain.

"You bastard!"

Adrien opened her eyes slightly to see Richard grasping the stick, scowl etched across his face. The salesman frowned. "Look here, matey. How I punish my incompetent Pokémon has nothing to do with you!"

Richard snatched away the stick, snapping it violently before lobbing it over his shoulder.

"You bastard!" he hissed, face contorted with rage. "You can't do that to a Pokémon, regardless of what it's done or the mistakes it's made. Scum like you should go rot in a hole. That poor creature did nothing and yet you beat it like that! Here's an idea. Why don't I beat you like that too? Huh?"

The salesman almost tripped over as he backed away from the enraged teenager, trembling. "C-calm down, there's no need to get so riled up…"

"No need? And don't tell me to fucking calm down, you worthless piece of crap!"

Adrien eyes widened in astonishment; she had never seen Richard lose his temper like this. He's normally so controlled and stoic, she thought worriedly. It's scary to see him like this! I have to say something!

"Ritchie, please…" she said, voice quavering. "All you're doing is scaring the Gligar. Please, calm down."

Richard stopped and glanced at the Pokémon, who was peeking out from behind Adrien's back, petrified. Its nervous eyes darted between the two males. Richard took several deep breaths before he began to speak again, voice carefully controlled.

"We're taking the Gligar. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the police. I'm sure they'll be delighted to hear of how you've abused your Pokémon."

"But- but…" the stall owner protested fruitlessy.

"I'll let you go this time, but I'm warning you, if I ever see you again I will not hesitate to inform the authorities. Now piss off and get out of my sight!"

The salesman threw one last contemptuous glance Richard before scrambling to his feet.

"It was rubbish anyway." He sniffed before turning around and running away as fast as his tubby legs would carry him.

"Ritchie?" Adrien approached the now motionless teenager. "Uh, we should really get this Pokémon some medical attention as soon as possible…"

Richard nodded, once again mute. Adrien sighed. "Want to take him?"

"It's a boy?"

Adrien nodded and shushed the whimpering Pokémon. "It's okay, Ritchie's friendly…"

Reluctantly, the Gligar allowed himself to be picked up by Richard. The Gligar was easily the height of a small child, though evident lack of nutrition had prevented it from reaching full potential and was therefore considerably lighter then Richard was expecting. The Flying and Ground type grinned at him, oversized tongue hanging outside of his gaping jaws. Richard allowed himself a small smile back before he set off for the nearest Pokémon Centre, Adrien in tow, still dumbfounded by Richard's unexpected outburst.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I knew this pairing thing was a bad idea." Crimson grumbled as she sat down on a bench near the fountain in the centre of the market, the groups designated meeting area. "It took us nearly twenty minutes to find this place and we're still the first ones here!"

Sam chuckled as he lowered himself onto the seat next to her. "Devin's really outdone himself this time."

Crimson smiled. "I never realised Tin Can was such an airhead!"

They both laughed before settling into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes Sam raised a hand and pointed towards the fountain. "Look." He said simply.

Crimson read the sign at which he was pointing- _The Luvdisc Wishing Fountain- may all your romantic wishes come true!_ And underneath in a smaller, less fancy font- _All donations go towards the Vien Forest Preservation Society. _

"Yeah, so what?" Crimson asked, frowning.

"It's a wishing well." Sam stated. "Well, nuh!" Crimson mock gasped. "What, does ickle baby Sammy want to make a wish?"

Sam grinned. "I will if you will."

Crimson huffed. "Ugh, fine…" she dug into her bag for spare change as Sam pulled several coins from his pockets.

"Come on then. Jeez, you're the one who wants to do the stupid thing in the first place!" Crimson exclaimed, dragging Sam towards the fountain. Sam blushed as they approached; perhaps this wasn't the best idea after all. The fountain's ornate design depicted several Luvdisc in moments of embrace, some shooting high curves of water into the sky from their stone mouths.

Sam turned to Crimson to find her just as red as he was. "After you, my good sir." She curtsied.

Sam shook his head. "No, no. Ladies first."

"But men before." Crimson countered. "Isn't that what you boys always say?"

Sam sighed. "Let's just do it together, okay?"

"Okay, Mr Poop-da-scoop."

"Hey!"

The splashing of the coins as they hit the clear fountain water drowned out Sam's cry of indignation. The pieces of metal sank slowly, eventually reaching the bottom of the glittering pool in which the loose change shone vibrantly in the sunlight.

Crimson cleared her throat. "So, what now?"

Sam shrugged. "We wait." The girl rolled her eyes as she strolled back over to the bench. "Aside from that?"

"I have absolutely no idea…" Sam sighed, before joining Crimson on the bench again. He jolted as their legs brushed together briefly, a light blush settling on his face as he looked away.

"I hope the others come soon…"

* * *

><p><strong>... Ritchie scares me...<strong>

**Sorry if anyone was too OOC, I tried my best!**

**So, was it good? Bad? Mediocre? Please tell me in a review! XD Until next time...**


End file.
